Sunbeams
by wirenoose
Summary: The Sun God brings light with him wherever he goes; to a weapons forge within a mountain, to a secluded workshop near the ocean. War looms overhead, bringing memories best kept locked away, awakening old enemies, and testing the distance one particular Moon God is willing to go to put everything back to rights. (Check AO3 Tags)
1. The Sun God

Rating doesn't really show until later chapters, nothing's graphic, I promise. I just figured it'd be best to be safe. More tags will be added.

* * *

It's nothing more than busy work, toying with one of his many models. Turn it this way. Turn it that way. Add some light, and he's done.

He's bored.

The low light of his workshop is usually comfortable but it seems dull now. Lifetimes ago, his workshop was a towering spire a short distance from the Palace, glistening with stars, dowsed in moonlight. Gods and goddesses, nymphs, fairies, and all sorts would come around.

The Moon God's Domain climbed into the sky. Home to magic, spells and all manner of artifacts. One could watch the seas change from the spire's top balcony.

The spire is empty now, nothing more than a darkened tower, devoid of anything and everything that once made it so wondrous.

He's fine with his workshop, prefers it even. It's out of the way, hardly any visitors, and it's quiet. He can work in peace, constructing and creating whatever he wants. The spells are his own and he can keep to himself. Occasionally, of course, he'll get a messenger sent by his former colleagues, requesting his attendance at a gathering

He always declines.

With a sigh, Kei pushes away from his work desk. There's nothing much in the day to do at the moment. Or at all, really. He still holds his position, his reputation, but he doesn't present as a figure head anymore, perfectly fine to keep to himself. Heavy lifting is something he doesn't have to do anymore, and he's not entirely sure if he misses it.

His workshop sits along the cliffs facing the sea. He can see one of his moons rise against the water.

This one is his favorite.

Kei sits on the cliff's edge. It will be dark soon. Yamaguchi's constellations appear one by one, nothing new, so Kei closes his eyes. The age of heroes is over, there is no one to put amongst the stars now. But Yamaguchi continues to care for his connections, he keeps them together, he speaks with all of the minor deities pertinent to his constellations and convinces them to keep the stars alive.

It's admirable, really.

"What are you doing?"

Kei opens his eyes, squinting against the unnatural brightness.

Whoever it is, he must be a fire sprite of some kind, for all that his glow and stature give away. The sprite emits a bright orange-yellow glow, pulsing as he breathes. His eyes are widened in curiosity, warm brown ringed in red and holding rampant flames in their confines. He holds more presence than a sprite should.

That's when Kei sees the wings.

Massive despite being folded against his back, they shimmer as though made from gold. They radiate heat, much more than Kei is used to in his frigid workshop.

This no sprite, not with wings like that.

"Resting. Who are you and why are you here?" Kei asks. He stands up, not prepared to find out just how much taller than this stranger he actually is.

"I'm wandering," the not-sprite says, "I'm the Sun God, Hinata Shouyou. I didn't know anyone lived out here."

The Sun God? Kei had heard a while ago that they'd finally found him, Yamaguchi always had news, but this is not at all what he'd been expecting.

Kei is only slightly shocked.

Hinata looks more the part of a fire sprite, or some other elemental, minus the wings of course. But there's no way. He's just so unassuming.

Kei waves off his question phrased as a statement and starts walking back to his workshop, he'd like to see the moon rise completely, but not with this apparent Sun God.

He doesn't expect Hinata to follow him.

"Are you a Minor God? I haven't seen you at the Palace. Were you banished? Is that why you live out here?"

Minor God? Kei almost scoffs aloud. What kind of Minor God controls the tides of planetary oceans? What kind of Minor God is entrusted with magical artifacts? Or creates defensive barriers powerful enough to keep any and all unsavory beings out of the Palace? What kind of Minor God holds enough secrets to rip apart the peace they all exist in?

Tsukishima Kei is no MInor God, and he certainly doesn't need to be questioned by a so called Sun God the size of a sprite.

"I live here because it's quiet," he says instead.

"Oh, that's nice. It's never really quiet at the Palace, I like it. But it's nice here too!"

Kei spares the small God a look before his attention drifts elsewhere.

The moon, bright and blue and Kei's favorite, is settled half against the horizon line. It illuminates the water, gives it a glow. The moon seems to bleed into the ocean, spreading along, and Kei finds a smile twitching at his lips.

"Pretty."

Kei looks down to Hinata.

The little god's eyes are wide, shining as Kei' moon reflects perfectly in his fiery irises. His wings unfurl, fluttering lightly and lifting him off his feet. The tip of one of his wings brushes against Kei, just one breath on the side of painfully hot.

"I never knew the moon could look like this," Hinata says after a stretch of silence, eyes still transfixed to the horizon, though he's back on his feet.

"There are many moons," Kei says flippantly.

"They don't look like that at the Palace."

Of course they don't, Kei's not there to make them so.

He gives Hinata a noncommittal grunt in answer.

Soon enough, the moon rises higher and Hinata snaps out of whatever trance he'd fallen into. There's nothing left to do, so Kei resumes his walk back to his workshop.

"Where are you going?" Hinata calls, easily catching up with a boost from his wings.

"Back."

"Back where?"

"To my workshop."

Kei really wants Hinata to leave. It's too warm, too loud, to uncomfortable.

"What do you make in your workshop?"

"Things."

Luckily, Hinata isn't so dense as to not realize when he's getting the soft boot out the door. So he nods.

"Okay!"

Kei watches him fly off, sees the brilliant streaks of red and orange shine behind him like a trail of stardust. He's fast, and in seconds, he's nothing but a dot of light in the distance.

* * *

Now, I know what you're thinking. "You already have a bunch of open stories you need to finish," and "There's a bunch of stuff you said you'd finish before this," and also "How many AUs does this make now?" I get it, I totally understand. All that stuff is getting worked on, but here's my problem(s). I get side tracked easily. I get sporadic bouts of inspiration and motivation. I live in a constant state of exhaustion and stress.

I promise, swear up and down and all, in progress stories will be finished. There are just going to be a bunch of detours along the way, so thank you all for being patient with me.


	2. How to Make a Moon

Kei isn't all that surprised when the sprite sized Sun God comes back a few days later.

And _of course_ Yamaguchi lets him in.

"-just back here."

He can hear Yamaguchi walking down the hall, and… no. He's bringing Hinata to the workshop. Kei gets up to lock the door but it's already opening.

Yamaguchi, stars scattered across his skin and constellations hiding in his hair, looks just shy of smug when he opens his mouth.

"You've got a visitor, Tsuki!" he sings, opening the door wider.

The light from Yamaguchi's stars isn't enough to disrupt the dim of Kei's workshop, but Hinata's glow washes the whole room in warm light.

Yamaguchi leaves all too quickly, and Kei is left squinting at his unwanted guest.

"Oh, sorry," Hinata says. He squeezes his eyes shut and his glow fades as his wings retreat into his back. "Better?"

Kei nods, blinking away the neon spots dotting his vision.

"So, you're the Moon Good," Hinata says after a moment.

"Yes."

"I had to ask Sugawara." He grins sheepishly, rubbing at his neck as if expecting a reprimand.

"That's fine."

There's a blur, then Hinata is gone.

Kei turns around, finding him at the back of the workshop.

"It's the moon from the other night."

He has a good eye. There are thousands of models in Kei's workshop, some floating, other's locked in a lazy orbit, while some are tied to tethers so they don't move from their designated anchors. But his favorite sits behind all of them, hovering alone in the back.

Hinata has himself balanced on the table, his hands supporting his weight along the edge.

Kei sighs and crosses the room to join him.

"So you actually make the moons?" Hinata asks, eyes of fire fixed in front of him.

"I choose to, yes."

"Will you show me?"

Then that gaze is fixed on Kei, swirling brown and orange and red zeroed in on his face. If it will make Hinata leave, it will be worth it.

"It will take some time," he says. Hinata doesn't seem the patient type.

But he only nods.

Kei sighs again and takes off his glasses. It's on the schedule anyway, Ennoshita is composing a new solar system and he'd asked Kei to make a few moons.

Hinata follows him to the workbench and Kei begins.

Cubic containers filled to brimming with all sorts of materials, some fine as powder, others liquid, and more still hold no proper substance at all, he lines them up in a neat grid. Next are his jars of colors. It's a rather monochromatic set, mostly blues of various shades, but they'll change on their own once he applies them. He keeps his tools in a fabric sleeve, once he's taken them out he lines them up along the table edge.

Ennoshita's system schematic is tucked among the others, and Kei sets it in a weak gravity field so it hovers in the air.

The real work hasn't even started and Hinata is already awestruck.

Kei tunes him out and starts.

He takes a look at Ennoshita's designs and dances his fingers over his composites. He takes small handfuls from six of the boxes; a fine grey powder, a pulsing white green, dark grey clay, a paste like white, and crumbling black. Kei puts them in the gravity field until he's ready to use them. From there, he selects a covered black box and opens it. Inside is a small sectional divider; three layers, nine sections in each. This is where the bright colors are, the pink, purples, reds and yellows. They won't show, but each little square is filled with a different colored magical property. It's almost like sand, or fine glitter, and it shines nearly as bright as Hinata's eyes.

Kei picks up one of his tools, a slim diamond headed spade, and scoops a small amount of pink red powder from the second layer of the box. He adds it to the rest of the materials in the gravity field then sets the box aside. He turns to his jars of liquid color and hums in thought. Avoiding the bluer blues, Kei dips his left index and middle finger into a lighter gray blue. With his other hand, he dips the same fingers into a simple flat grey.

He closes his eyes for a moment, feeling a chill build between his shoulder blades and his lower back. It travels through his arms and out to his paint dipped fingers. Nearly liquid in appearance, bright blue light engulfs Kei's body as he opens his eyes. Normally light brown ringed in blue, they appear as nothing but bright white light.

The blue light races until most of it is gathered in his hands, which he raises into the gravity field. His composite materials flow towards the space between his outstretched hands, swirling together. The paint drips from his fingers, steadily joining the spinning mass.

This is Kei's favorite part; his magic flowing freely, a planetary object coming to life between his hands, it feels like power.

When the moon becomes solid, and fairly spherical, Kei's blue light disappears, but his eyes keep their glow. He adds depth, makes craters, plants ice deposits, and adjusts its gravity. He takes a few liberties with Ennoshita's specifications, but he doesn't care, and he he knows Ennoshita won't either.

It takes upwards of two hours for Kei to be pleased. He presses his palm flat to the table, a flash of blue light leaves a ring fused into the table top. A tether of magic ties the moon to the ring so it'll stay put while he does other things.

When his eyes fade to normal, he takes in Hinata's slack jawed expression and arches a brow.

"That was amazing!" Hinata jumps into the air, his glow flickering rapidly as he starts to ramble.

Kei listens in confusion, uncomprehending as to why Hinata is so excited about something as simple as moon creation. Strangely enough, Kei feels his cheeks heat the longer Hinata talks.

The Sun God's wings flutter out, but stay lose to his body so as to avoid disturbing the contents of the workshop. He cuts himself off suddenly and fishes his hand into his tunic pocket. He pulls out a small metal disk, roughly the size of his palm. It's shaking.

"I have to get back to the Palace," he says, slipping the disk back into his pocket.

"Okay."

"Thanks for showing me how you make the moons! It was amazing! I'll come back soon!"

Then Hinata's wings propel him out the door and he's gone.

Kei's workshop is dim again.

* * *

"You've never let a guest stay that long," Yamaguchi says when they sit out on the cliff later that night.

"I was working, he just watched," Kei says dismissively, hoping Yamaguchi will drop the topic. Knowing him though, Yamaguchi is going to do nothing of the sort.

"You let him watch?"

Kei sucks in his cheeks a moment, biting softly before sighing.

"I figured he'd leave afterwards, he did."

"Because he got called back," Yamaguchi chuckles.

Kei doesn't give him a response, only looks up at the night sky. There haven't been any new constellations in a long while, Kei knows that Yamaguchi would tell him if there would be, but he looks anyways.

Despite having been the one to put them there, Yamaguchi always stares up at the stars in wonder. His own stars, dotting his face and arms and all visible skin, shine brighter as his constellations begin to appear.

The two of them lapse into quiet for nearly an hour, Yamaguchi smiles at his stars and Kei closes his eyes.

"Is it the wings?"

Kei's eyes snap open, glowing an ice blue.

"No."

"Sorry, I asked without thinking," Yamaguchi whispers.

"It had nothing to do with you, you don't have to apologize."

Kei's wings were a sight to behold.

He had two sets. One was grey white, twice the length of an average wingspan, and tipped blue. They were strong enough to protect him from attacks composed of brute strength, like a metal shield. His second set was smaller and lower down on his back. Those were dark blue, tipped white, and made of softer feathers. His second set served no protective purpose but they made him a sharper flier.

There's nothing but scarred skin and still splintered bones where they used to be. The swirling pattern left surrounding the sprout points, deep green and black, occasionally burn.

Despite the lifetimes that have passed, Kei still wakes up sometimes expecting to see feathers in his bed.

* * *

I really like putting excessive light imagery into stories. And also, Yamaguchi's freckles are now legitimate stars, no argument.


	3. Wings, Keys, and Other Things

Would have been up sooner but life happened

* * *

Kei wakes to a pounding ache in his spine. It's sharp between his shoulders, and sure at his lower back.

Mornings like these make him what to halt time, make him consider actually begging in order to convince Akaashi to freeze the worlds, if only for a short time. Kei knows his wings are gone, he knows they won't grow back, not ever. He can't stop himself from hoping though. He can still feel the ghost of feathers brushing against his shoulders, can still feel the heavy weight behind him as he walks.

He's still not sure if those are comforting feelings or not.

Regardless, he needs to be getting up soon, the soft rays of light drifting through his windows signify that it's time to wake. He's got a full schedule after all; artifacts to check on, moonst to send off, keys to make.

First things first however.

Kei bends the light around his room until he can view his back without having to twist about. Twin jagged slashes, long scarred over, angled slightly towards each other, sit between his shoulder blades. These marks were torn wide open initially, bone fragments shining through, cracked and jagged from an unclean break. Microfractures web through, if Kei focuses he can feel each immeasurably thin crack in his shoulders. The scars on his lower back are neater, the wounds were cleaner, smaller wings are easier to rip out than massive ones. But these hurt more, these wake Kei in the early morning hours and light his back on fire.

The left over magic, green and foreign, mars his skin. It's mixed in with black, and the marks occasionally writhe along his skin. It's acid squirming within his body, granted it's only occasionally that such pain occurs, that's the only solace Kei has.

He rolls his shoulders, lolling his neck side to side to release what tension he can. There's really no reason to dress completely, not when his only plans are to lock himself in his workshop. He slips on a pair of loose pants, loose from thigh to ankle, but cinched tight at the waist and heels. He doesn't bother with shoes or a proper shirt either; his floors are clean and he has a tunic somewhere in his chest that he can wear; it's backless, all of his shirts are, they had to be when he still had his wings.

He's never gotten around to changing any of them.

Kei pulls a sash from the chest as well, tying it loose around his waist as he walks. Yamaguchi has already left for the Palace, he can feel it. The Constellation God has a certain signature, almost shimmery with a shaky undercurrent of sharp brightness. In any case, it makes him easy to find.

The door portal to the artifact room sits just opposite his own. Kei summons the key he needs and inserts it into the lock, waiting patiently as all the mechanisms twist and slither into place. The door glows lightly before compressed air hisses out from beneath it. It swings open and Kei steps inside.

There's nothing but shelves, shelves and boxes and cases, filled with neatly ordered artifacts. Weapons are located along the far wall, books on the sunrise wall, tools on the sunset wall, and the miscellaneous items have their spots throughout the room. Defensive spells hang from the ceiling, set to keep out anyone who isn't Kei. There are runes of protection carved into the stone, burned into the wood, painted onto the glass.

He starts with the weapons.

Bokuto's War Axe, Akaashi's first pair of Clock Daggers, various enchanted swords, the prototype for Sugawara's Truth Divining Cords, Kei has them all. Spelled weapons are hung upon the wall, encased in powerful containment spells.

Kei summons his roster, dotting each weapon as he finds it

It's time consuming work, but he doesn't mind. He checks each item, each book and spell and weapon until all of them are accounted for. Then he does it again, just to be safe. Being the Artifact Keeper is serious business. He's the one with their history, the one with all the old magic.

He's not stupid enough to keep everything in the same room, though it may appear that way for convenience sake. Each artifact has its own little space of existence, their locations known only to Kei. Each defensive spell in the room is tied to one particular artifact, but all have to be broken to remove just a single artifact.

He'd balked at the task when Sugawara first gave it to him. It doesn't seem so intimidating now.

Once assured that everything is as it should be, Kei vanishes his roster and locks up the room. The key hovers in his palm, spinning unnecessarily fast until the door stops glowing. He vanishes the key as well, and opens the door to make sure the room has actually disappeared. When he's met with shelves of Yamaguchi's spare star maps, he nods his head, satisfied.

The walk down to his workshop is often a comfort, nothing but the familiar walls around him and the worn floor below him. He breathes in a quiet breath before unlocking his workshop. His moons hum to life, sensing his arrival, and they all glow a little brighter.

There are only a few moons to send off, Ennoshita's being conservative this go around, so it doesn't take long until Kei is pulling down boxes of key materials.

Right next to making moons, Kei's favorite thing to do is make keys.

One box holds liquid metals, another the key molds, some hold gem fixtures, and some are nearly identical to the boxes for his moons. He has a list of the keys he needs to finish. He puts it off, not because he doesn't like it, but because he has all the time in the worlds and more.

But given the enormous weight behind some of the secrets, it would be prudent to get them into a key. Any old magic user with the right abilities could get into Kei's head, but they can't get into a key.

Kei pulls Sugawara's key mold from one of the boxes and sets it on the table. A thin thread of blue magic dances off his fingers, collecting the liquid metal necessary to make Sugawara's key. His secrets require stronger metals, unbreakable ones, sure and steady. When the metal has filled the mold, Kei adds some color.

Sugawara's keys always start with a silver base, they're long and narrow, and diamond shaped at the head. They're always the heaviest. Sugawara's secrets are old, he waits until he feels like death before he comes running to Kei, shaking as he whispers. Kei only nods and marks down that he needs to make another key.

By this point, Kei's stopped being surprised. It's his job as the Moon God, keeping secrets is in his aspects. It's a part of him, part of his magic. He's long since stopped cringing when secrets betray blood and carnage, long since stopped being horrified when he learns of what his friends have done.

And really, he has no room to talk. They've all done horrible things, war time tends to twist morals, bending them until they snap for an instant. That's all it takes really. Kei's hands aren't clean, he knows that, he knows exactly how much blood stains his colleagues' hands. He'd been there to witness some of it, absent for most. But he knows it all.

There's a backlog of secrets. Kei's head is a veritable dumping ground for them, all neatly ordered by person and time. Most are still swirling in holding cells, waiting to be matched up with a key.

The keys he makes are something strange.

Almost everyone has one. There's a key for every secret, and a person for every key. Sugawara's are silver, long and narrow. Daichi's are dark grey, flecked in orange with simple heads. Nishinoya's glow. Kuroo's hum. Everyone has a secret or two or seven that they can't bare for anyone else to know about.

Except Kei.

Each key can only be used by the person they are matched with, and Kei. Whenever a secret needs accessing, whether so someone can relive something so guilt inducing or otherwise, they come to Kei, select a key, and he unlocks the secret for them. The keys only work if he wants them to.

They're delicate little tools, nearly alive.

With a flash of blue light, the metal solidifies and Kei's magic lifts it from the mold. He takes a moment to inspect it for any imperfections, it's not like there will be, but he likes to be sure. Once satisfied, he begins the detail work.

Sugawara has a lot of keys, as do Kuroo and Yahaba. Not all secrets are terrible, at least not anymore.

In the early days, they were war secrets, anguished revelations of deeds done for the greater good, horrified whispers of a guilty conscience. While Kei holds a secret, they can't utter a single syllable about it.

It's tiresome, knowing so many things, but he manages.

Kei pushes up his glass and blows into the grooves he's carving into the body of a key.

The door swings open, flooding the workshop with warm light. Kei looks up from Sugawara's key, unsurprised to see Hinata.

This is the Sun God's eighth visit, and Yamaguchi is all too happy with the fact.

Hinata doesn't come everyday, usually once or twice a week. The worlds aren't as busy as they once were, but that doesn't mean their work is over. Kei knows the basics of Hinata's responsibilities. He brings life to planets he deems suitable, he keeps the words bright, and he'll work miracles occasionally.

"I brought you this!" Hinata's glow dims as his wings disappear, and he holds up a small box full of what looks like Nighttime.

"Where did you get this?"

It's not that Nighttime is rare, it's just hard to get.

"Kageyama had a bunch, he said I could take some."

Kei accepts the box and dips his index finger in. It comes away shining black, flecked in blinking lights.

"And where did Kageyama get it?" He sets the box amongst his other materials, already working up plans for new moons.

"He's working with Aone and Moniwa, they want swords with Nighttime blades," Hinata says, hopping up to sit on Kei's work table.

It doesn't really answer his question.

Kageyama is the Palace's Weaponsmith, he's made everything from physical weapons to magical ones. He made Nishinoya's dual sabers, blades of sunset colors, infused with thunder and lightning. Kiyoko's arrowheads, silver laced with crystal, he made them so they're unbreakable and gather enough speed to tear down a building. Tanaka's studded knuckles contain Sun Fire, and enough energy to level a forest.

Kei's lying if he says he's not impressed. He is very much aware of Kageyama's talents. Speaking as a creator, Kei is only a little jealous. Kageyama reconfigures the elements of their existence into weapons, into tools.

They've worked together on a few occasions, they helped build the Palace, and Kageyama built the physical defenses for Kei's spire.

But Kei still doesn't know where he got Nighttime.

"Thank you," he says stiffly.

Hinata always glows brighter when he smiles.

"So, what are you working on?" Hinata asks. He knows by now not to touch Kei's work. But he does get close, eyeing the key on the work table.

"Secrets."

Hinata nods slowly, like he knows exactly what Kei is talking about, then shakes his head in confusion.

"You put secrets in the keys?" he guesses.

Kei sits down and takes off his glasses.

"Yes. One of the aspects I'm charged with is secret keeping. Volatile secrets, dangerous ones, are stored in keys, so they cannot be spoken aloud, or stolen."

At first, Kei thinks the expression on Hinata's face is awe. After all, he does give Kei that look quite often. But then he realizes Hinata's eyes are set elsewhere.

Namely, Kei's bare shoulders.

All the other times that Hinata has come over, Kei had been wearing sleeves of some sort. Proper sleeves of course, nothing like the gap tied sleeves he's wearing now.

While Hinata can't see the scarring, he can definitely see the tip of one green black mark.

Before Kei can blink, Hinata is behind him, with his eyes even wider no doubt. Kei doesn't dare move. As much as he hates the reminders, as much as he hates his lack of wings, something tells him that Hinata isn't going to say anything to strike a nerve.

Not deliberately anyways.

Kei does move eventually, it's more of a jump really, when he feels one of Hinata's too hot hands on the center of his back.

"What happened?" he breathes.

It may just be his imagination, but Kei thinks he hears the slightest edge of anger in Hinata's voice.

"They were ripped out," Kei says simply, that's really all there is to it.

Not all of them have wings to begin with. Some use wind, or winged beasts, Nishinoya doesn't need wings to fly, neither does Bokuto. But there is something in having wings, aside from literally being a part of them, the wings are a manifestation of what's inside as well. It's been lifetimes since Kei has had his wings, most have forgotten that he had them in the first place, while others don't say anything out of courtesy.

But Hinata wouldn't know that.

Kei tenses the muscles in his back and Hinata jumps before quickly retaking his spot on the work table.

"I'm sorry," Hinata says quickly.

"It's best that we don't talk about it." Kei puts his glasses back on and picks up his carving tool.

"Do you mind if I watch?" Hinata asks.

Kei just shakes his head and resumes his work.

* * *

Yay for a longer chapter, and shady as all hell background info on some of our beloved characters. I'm still working on the outline for this, but if you have any questions about characters or story events that are mentioned, please feel free to ask! I love questions!

Also, I did a dumb digital doodle of Tsukishima, back when he had his wings, and it's on tumblr, so if you wanna check that out, please do. (the tunic he's wearing is similar to the 'gap tied' one mentioned in this chapter)


	4. The Moon God's Duties

Standby for a bunch of character intros and a secret

* * *

"Kei, come on!" Yamaguchi calls.

It's meeting day, Kei doesn't want to go but he doesn't really have a choice. Yamaguchi's already outside, arms full of star maps and the constellations in his hair swirling. His formal robes flow, the airy bits of fabric drift around him as if alive, and knowing Kyoutani it probably is to some extent.

With a sigh, Kei takes some of the star maps before Yamaguchi drops them, ignoring the beaming smile he gets in return.

The trip to the Palace isn't long at all, unless they want it to be. Time is a bit of an abstract, and Akaashi is fairly understanding with passage constraints.

"Nothing has changed on my end, I don't see why I have to go," Kei grumbles.

"It's business Tsuki. Besides, Hinata will be there too, it's been a while since he's visited."

Kei rolls his eyes and doesn't bother with a response. He knows that Yamaguchi is smiling.

The Palace comes into view soon enough. Towers brush the sky, magic glows through the windows. Silver, white, and technicolor, the Palace gleams in the setting sunlight. A mountain range runs into the sunrise side; that's where the Palace started, carved from the rock. It grew as they did. Kei and Kageyama and the others built it up to glory, and it remains one of his proudest works.

"Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, finally here!" Moniwa jumps down from the guard gate, the ground quaking slightly as he lands.

"We're not late," Kei says simply.

"Yeah, but everyone else is already here, I was just waiting on you two. Now get in there so I can lock up." He all but shoves them through the gate, already half way through the process of locking everything down as they move down the entryway.

The Palace Hall is magnificent as ever; cavernous ceiling, floating lights, the worlds maps painting proudly on the walls. The rest of the gods sit around the table, easily conversing or looking over reports. Sugawara sits at the head, taking in hushed tones to both Daichi and Kuroo, the latter of which is draped over the back of Sugawara's chair.

Sugawara is dressed in silver robes, a light orange sash over his shoulder. He's wearing his gloves, his usual ones as opposed to the sleek black formal pair he usually sports as these meetings. Daichi is dressed similarly, dark grey instead of silver and a brighter orange. Kuroo is dressed in black, his robe bears thin red designs that seem to move on their own, never mind the changing light.

Nishinoya's perched on Asahi's shoulder, taking easily with Yaku. Akaashi is discussing matters with Kiyoko, both having elected to ignore the formality of the meeting. Akaashi has his simple robes, his emblem is missing from his chest, and his clock hand blades lie carelessly on the table. Kiyoko is covered in leaves and petals, she wears her gardening tunic with a simple shawl. No one will say anything about it though. For all that the meetings are formal, it's not entirely necessary. Besides, Kiyoko is very well respected, and no one is going to question Akaashi.

Kei finds his eyes drifting over the assembly, and of course Yamaguchi notices. Wisely, he elects to say nothing, though he has taken note of a particularly bright figure barreling towards Kei. The Moon God's eyes are still scanning the table, so he doesn't notice when the figure jumps.

"Tsukishima!" Shouyou shouts, wings spread out as his legs lock around Kei's waist.

When Hinata became Shouyou, Kei doesn't know, and he'll never let Yamaguchi know that.

"Hello," he says.

"You guys finally made it, come on!" Shouyou flaps his wings, darting quickly halfway down the table.

Yamaguchi's snickering behind his hand but he follows Kei.

Shouyou's sitting with Kageyama and Kozume, the latter looks absolutely miserable out of the water. Kozume isn't a sea creature, but he does prefer the comfort of water, and of dimness, the Palace isn't much fun for him. He wears his formal garb, practically swimming in blue fabric. His hair is wreathed in ocean flowers, patches of bioluminescent skin shine through his robes, while his eyes swirl from black to blue as he breathes.

Kei's never been to the Deep Seas, but he does know the secrets it has. Kozume's come to visit him in the past, nearly tugging his hair out as he strains his words. His keys are deep blue bleeding black, inlayed with topaz, and they weigh almost as much as Sugawara's.

Kageyama is dressed in semi formality, having swapped out his smith's apron for a heavy black tunic, a skin tight long sleeve beneath that seems to smolder though nothing catches fire. His hands are rough and callused from many lifetimes of work, scars criss cross his fingers and decorate his palms, they're immortal but not unbreakable.

Kei knows that just as well as anybody.

Yamaguchi elbows him in the side, looking very pointedly at Kageyama. Kei just sighs, withholding a groan.

"Thank you for the Nighttime, it's been very useful," he says, taking a seat beside Shouyou, who's taken up a seat on the arm of Kageyama's chair.

"Sho mentioned that you might like it." Kageyama's voice has always been rather rough. "It's been some time since you commissioned a weapon, this was the next best step."

"You have a weapon?" Shouyou nearly shouts, leaning so far he nearly falls, his wings keeping him up though he doesn't really seem to notice.

"Of course."

The vast majority of them have physical weapons, though some do prefer to use magic as their weapons. Kozume, for instance, has no weapon to speak of, but Kei wouldn't want to get into a fight with him. He knows what Kozume can do, is aware of the power he wields. Kozume doesn't need a weapon. Akaashi has his blades, but he rarely uses them, he prefers localized time fields, slowing the time around his enemies so they are all but immobilized, allowing Akaashi to either get someone else or escape. Suga's weapons aren't entirely weapons; long cords that seem to come from nowhere, they divine the truth as they slowly squeeze an enemy to death.

It's all rather brutal.

Kageyama makes the weapons, anything physical, so of course he made Kei's.

"I wanna see!"

Shouyou's glowing again, his eyes practically burning.

Kei sighs, pretending as though it's not entirely endearing that Shouyou is so excited to see something so trivial as a weapon. Kei hasn't needed his since the war, there's never been a need. But he still wears the bracelets.

He rolls back his sleeves to reveal identical silver link bracelets, simplistic in design until Kei curls his fingers. Strands of chain shoot up, like shining little snakes, hovering until they're instructed to move. Kei makes them dance for a few moments, shows Hinata that they extend, retract, merge, grow, before they change back into bracelets.

The Sun God is completely enthralled.

"Nighttime, moonlight, and stardust," Kageyama says when Shouyou turns to him in question.

He's going to say more, Kei knows it, but Sugawara calls them all to order. They all return to their proper seats, Yamaguchi and Kei move to the other side of the table, a few seats down, while Shouyou moves to sit beside Tanaka. Ennoshita and Akaashi sit beside Daichi and Sugawara, Nishinoya sits to Kiyoko's right, while Asahi sits on her left. Kyoutani sits next to Kageyama, Kuroo sits on Kei's other side. Everyone else finds their place and once they're seated, Sugawara starts the meetings.

They go down the table sides. Everyone with something to say has reports prepared.

Asahi throws a glowing green orb to the center of the table and it explodes in a burst of light. Diagrams of forest growths, mountains pushing up from the grounds; it's a terrain idea for a new planet. Ennoshita scribbles down some notes, Kiyoko asks a few questions.

Ennoshita has a few charts, displaying the stability levels of some of his older systems, Sugawara gives him the go ahead to terminate them if that's what he should choose later. Kei has to write a few things down then, almost everybody has to. Kuroo rolls his eyes, running up a tally in his notes.

Kozume reports no suspicious activity, which conflicts with Kuroo's numbers. Sugawara lets them argue about it for a little bit before he silences them.

"We'll address this after everyone's said their pieces, and we'll investigate following the meeting."

Following that, it's Kageyama's turn. He gives progress updates of the new weapon commissions as well as a request of Sugawara to go on an expedition for new materials. Sugawara says yes without hesitation.

Yamaguchi follows, standing up with his star maps. Kei gives him a zone of anti-gravity to hang the maps in, and a few of the constellations from Yamaguchi's hair join the maps in order to illuminate them. He talks about some of the finicky stars, the ones growing unstable. As it happens, they're some of Tanaka's, old heroes long ago immortalized. Sugawara decides to have them handle the stars together, then he turns to Kei.

"Has there been any conflicts with the artifacts?" he asks.

Kei stands, because it's formal and required, and shakes his head.

"Nothing has changed, everything is still in stasis. The vast majority of the seals are still holding strong but a few are weakening. It's nothing of major importance but I would like Akaashi to come down and take a look at them at his earliest convenience."

There's a silence as Sugawara looks to Akaashi, who nods, before looking back to Kei.

"Of course."

Kei doesn't pay much attention to the meeting after that, he allows himself to drift until it's over and Sugawara is suddenly standing behind his chair.

"Take a walk with me," he says simply, jerking his head towards one of the doors along the wall.

Yamaguchi looks up from his maps and Kei just nods.

"You can head back," Kei says, but Yamaguchi shakes his head.

"I'll stay here, I have to talk to Tanaka anyways."

Right.

Kei follows Sugawara from the Hall, very much aware of the eyes at his back. He's charged with secret keeping, the others are bound to be a bit suspicious that he's meeting alone with Sugawara, and after a meeting at that.

He catches Akaashi's eyes as they pass through the door and Kei can almost feel himself and Sugawara being wrapped in a small field.

"What's happened?" Kei asks.

"I received word from Kunimi, I need you to go see him. He's concerned that the seal are weakening."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Daichi, and I'm obligated to tell Yahaba about any matters such as this. You'll be taking him with you."

"Of course, when?"

"As soon as possible."

Sugawara takes off his gloves, vanishing them to an empty space, and begins rubbing his knuckles. Sugawara's fair skin is decorated in burn marks, magical so the edges are fairly solid. Deep red winding in thin tendrils around his fingers, turning to broad lines across his hands. They disappear beneath his sleeves, they cover the majority of Sugawara's arms, and Kei knows they stop just short of his biceps.

"If the seals are weakened?"

"Do your best to fix them, we can't afford him waking up, not now."

"Why is this time so crucial?"

It's a serious matter either way, but Kei doesn't see why it's of such importance now.

"Hinata's ceremony is coming up, he hasn't been officiated yet because I've been busy dealing with the backlog Kuroo was talking about. If Hinata isn't officiated, and the seal breaks, we're all in trouble."

That makes sense, Kei supposes. Shouyou probably doesn't know much about the war, Kei doubts he's been trained much in combat. Though, if he's hanging around Kageyama, surely he's earned _some_ things.

They can't afford another war, and certainly not with an unofficial god, the Sun God at that.

Kei nods.

"Very well, I'm going to send Yamaguchi back. Yahaba is aware we're leaving, right?"

"Yes, I've already sent him to the front gate."

It's a soft dismissal, so Kei nods his head and makes his way to another door. At this time, they'll all lead to the Hall, and even if they didn't he's the one who built this wing of the Palace, he knows where everything is.

Most of the Gods have dispersed. Shouyou and Kageyama stand by the wall, Kageyama's explaining some of the maps. Yamaguchi is sitting with Tanaka at the table showing him some of the maps in depth.

"I have to go," Kei says simply.

"What? Why?"

"Routine check." He's not fond of lying to Yamaguchi, and surely his friend knows that he is.

"Oh, okay, be safe."

Kei doesn't bother trying to talk to Shouyou, simply makes his way to the gate.

"Did Suga fill you in?" Yahaba asks. He looks uneasy, but also tiredly resigned.

"Yes. I need to stop by my workshop and pick up a few things before we go."

Yahaba nods and drags his hand down the space in front of him. The portal ripples open and Yahaba waves him through, following shortly after. He waits outside while Kei collects what he needs.

Seal correction is something Kei isn't fond of. He lets Akaashi handle these things, but Akaashi doesn't know about this particular issue. Sugawara had to be very particular about what secrets he had Kei lock up. Otherwise he'd be unable to speak of the prison at all.

And it's something that eats at the both of them.

Once Kei's collected his tools, he rejoins Yahaba.

The portal takes them to entryway to the prison. It's headed by Moniwa, but Aone's the one currently running it. The prison is mostly underground, it's actually an entire planet, the inside carved with magic to make holding cells and restraints. It's the strongest prison, coated in the magic that Kei uses to disguise the dark sides of his moons. The prison is known, but only a handful know where it's located. Kei can count them on one hand, not including Moniwa's team of course.

They make their way towards the core, to a single blackened door.

Kei waits as Yahaba takes in a shaky breath.

"You can wait outside," he offers.

"No, this is my responsibility," Yahaba says resolutely, pressing his hand to the center of the door. From the center of his palm, red light spills, spiraling around the surface of the door, intricate designs nearly as ancient as Akaashi's aspects.

The door hisses open and Kei follows Yahaba inside.

It's a small room, circular, with a lowered center. It's all rough hewn stone but Kunimi's accumulated quite the collection of pillows and blankets, all bright colors to liven his nearly eternal stay in the prison cell. He lounges on a small pile of cushions, eyes dull, as purple light spills from his fingertips to the room's second occupant.

"It took you long enough."

* * *

I dare you to guess.

Also, given that only a small handful of characters have had their God titles explicitly stated, if you'd like to know what the others in this chapter are Gods of, please ask. I also apologize for the lack of Hinata in this chapter, he'll pop up soon though, I promise


	5. Of Sleeping Gods and Old Wounds

Apparently, I am not nearly as clever as I think I am. Kinda sort reveal for who the 'sleeping god' is, but also like, most of you figured it out in a hot second, so I'm just gonna pretend you haven't and save up for a dramatic reveal later.

Be sure to let me know what you think!

* * *

"He's still asleep then?" Yahaba asks, striding into the room.

Kunimi nods and sits up, his fingers still pouring out light.

"What makes you think the seals are weakening?" Kei can't see all of them because they're covered by Kunimi's blankets, but the ones drawn on to the walls look okay, as do the ones painted onto his skin.

"He talked," Kunimi shrugs.

"What did he say?"

Kei stops himself from biting his lip, he can't afford to appear nervous. It's not like any secrets were spilled, this was all very hush hush to begin with. And it's not like any of this is news to Kunimi.

"Nothing of importance," Kunimi says. He knows exactly what Kei is thinking, it's something he's unnervingly good at.

"That didn't answer my question."

"He called for Iwaizumi, and mumbled something that sounded like 'Where's Kou?', could have been Koutarou or Koushi, I don't know."

Yahaba runs his hands through his hair and sighs, curling his fingers around the silver strands. He sits down next to Kunimi while Kei gets to work.

Unceremoniously, he throws a handful of pillows up into the air where they stay suspended.

The seals were carved into the floors long ago, followed by layers of magic, all glowing slightly. This one shines purple, pulsing steadily. Kei waves his hand over it, closing his eyes. His shoulderblades burn, he can already feel the pain begin its radiation outwards, as blue light appears at his fingertips. The seal flashes green and Kei moves on to the next one.

There are dozens of seals all around the room, add to that the hundreds of charms and spells hanging from the ceiling and the walls. It's going to take a while, Kunimi can't help him, and, despite being the damn Portal God, Yahaba is absolutely horrendous with seals.

So Kei works his way around the room.

He's not sure how long it takes, only that his back is numb and he wants nothing more than to plunge himself into the ocean to soothe the burning, but he's on the last seal.

Of course it's the last one he checks.

It's not a very important seal, not that they're not all important, this one just isn't as severe as some of the others. Kei kneels down in front of it, raising his arms. His chains emerge, glowing blue as they hover and circle around the seal.

The fire in his back roars, rages through his bones and Kei thinks he hears the splinter of bone, but he ignores it. His magic bleeds red, dripping down into the seal, caulking up the holes and relayering the still intact magic. Kei's powers are different than Sugawara's. It is in the very nature of the moon to be secretive, and Kei's magic embodies that at its basest levels. He helped build this prison, it's very existence in tune the spark of his nerves and the thrum of his blood. It accepts his magic readily, amplifies it until Kei drops his arms and sways.

"Bring Sugawara later," he says to Yahaba, "I've fixed this one but it's going to need his blessing over it as well."

"You know he won't come, Tsukishima."

"Then tell him I need his blessing."

"Are you not coming back with me?"

"Not at the moment," Kei says, pushing off his knees, rising as his chains retreat to his bracelets.

Yahaba and Kunimi share a look before the former nods and stands up.

When it's just Kei and Kunimi, it's deadly silent.

"What do you wish to discuss that you can't with Shigeru here?" Kunimi asks, easing himself back onto his stomach.

"What does he see?" Kei asks instead.

"Nothing, just comforting dark. He's at peace."

"Why not show him actual dreams?" Kei sits down beside Kunimi, tucking his legs to his chest and resting his chin on his knees.

"Too much activity. This way he won't be detected. Dreams evoke emotions, it gets messy."

They lapse into quiet again.

This room in particular is Kei's creation, he laid down the first few seals, etched them into the stone and spelled them so they'd never wear down. Sugawara added the others to be safe. Kunimi had been in the room since it was put to use. As far as Kei knows, he has no major conflict with his situation.

He can keep his captain safe this way.

"Sugawara is thinking of breaking the seals after Hinata's officiation," Kei says, "I believe so anyways."

"The new Sun God? Why?"

"I said I believe so. He doesn't want an unofficial god should we go to war. He feels guilty as well."

"I do too, but even I know that breaking the seals is a bad idea. This was the only way to win the last time, our enemy will not take kindly to being duped for such a long while."

"They've taken measures."

Kei can't say them out loud, but Daichi has come to him a few times recently. He tells Kei of the quiet bloodbaths on the edges of their world. He speaks of the tears that fall down Sugawara's face at night, and of the way the blood feels when it splatters across his skin. Kei doesn't like hearing it, especially not from Daichi, but it is his job.

"Well, let us hope for the best."

As Kei stands, Yahaba comes back in.

"Sugawara said to hold onto it," he says.

Kei nods and accepts the package, making his way back to the recently repaired seal.

Sugawara's blessing is made of First Light, Fading Light, and Truth. It's a touch bigger than Kei's hand, and circular in shape save for a deep divot at the top.

He stands over the seal and squeezes his eyes shut, more against the burn than because it's necessary, and allows his magic to pour out. His magic fades blue to white tinted silver through the blessing. Sugawara's magic is heavy, dense, Kei's never had an issue with it, but it's different than his own, sharper and older.

Within a few breaths, the seal is set to rights and Kei feels as though he's going to burn up into nothing.

He says goodbye to Kunimi and Yahaba opens a portal for him back to the Hall.

"I'm going to stay and talk to him some more," Yahaba says, biting his lip.

"Of course. Update Sugawara when you return." Kei pockets the blessing before stepping through the portal.

The Hall is entirely empty when he emerges and he knew it would be but he's not sure if the pain in his back is going to be bearable if he's by himself.

Moniwa gives him a knowing look as he passes through the gate. If Kei didn't have faith in his own abilities in obscurity, he would be worried. Regardless, there's no one better at keeping secrets than Kei is. The fact that Moniwa doesn't even know who his prison holds is laughable at best, and problematic at the worst.

Two lights streak across the sky, one red and the other white; Tanaka and Yamaguchi, on their way to another of Yamaguchi's stars.

Kei takes off his glasses, slipping them into the same pocket as Sugawara's blessing, and rubs at his eyes.

The fire is spreading along his spine and he's desperately waiting for the icy chill that usually follows. It's not this time, for whatever reason, and he can't focus enough to bypass the standard time and get to his workshop. He's an idiot, he'll willingly admit that much to himself. Sugawara's magic is on another level, and repairing a seal is draining, it's no wonder he's managed to exacerbate his injury.

Why didn't he ask Yahaba just to open a portal to his workshop to begin with?

Kei's too busy squinting and attempting to ignore his pain, he doesn't notice Shouyou or Kageyama until the former latches onto his waist.

He nearly reacts on the offensive, pain igniting his fighting instincts. His chains rattle from the bracelet but he quells the feelings within a heartbeat.

Shouyou doesn't even notice, he's smiling up at Kei, all teeth, eyes shut.

"You're back! You disappeared after the meeting!" he says, flapping his wings so he hovers a moment before drifting down to sit on one of Kageyama's shoulders. The Weaponsmith holds onto his legs, though Kei has no doubt that Shouyou can stay up just fine on his own.

"I had to do a few check ins for Sugawara."

"Oh, that's what Yamaguchi- you don't look very well, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He's not. He's definitely not. His back is nothing but burning needles and splintering bones. He can barely see straight. Sugawara's blessing is like an ever growing weight in his pocket and it's been so long since he's felt this worn down, since he's felt so tired.

"You're not." Shouyou jumps from Kageyama's shoulders and the two share a look that Kei has only seen a handful of times in his repulsively long life.

"I-" Kei cuts himself off as he sways, Shouyou's too hot hands pushing against his shoulders to keep him up.

"We'll take you home," Shouyou says softly.

Kei's vision blurs but he doesn't bother fighting. Pride be damned, he very well end up having to go into a healing coma if he doesn't stop moving.

He's not entirely sure what he's expecting, but it's certainly not this.

Shouyou moves away and Kageyama steps in. Kei doesn't put everything together until he finds himself slumped over Kageyama's back, the Weaponsmith holding Kei's legs so he doesn't fall.

Surely, he'd end up falling if he were to be carried any other way, but that doesn't mean he has to like it.

They begin walking and Shouyou starts chattering, wings flapping happily along, stirring up warm breezes.

Kei doesn't make it a habit to sleep in front of others, maybe Yamaguchi occasionally, but no one else. So he fights now, keeps his eyes open. Shouyou is nothing but a fuzzy ball of orange light, his wings extending, too hot feathers occasionally brushing against Kei and Kageyama. But Kei's felt worse and Kageyama spends half his time in his forge, so it doesn't hurt as much as it should.

Not to mention the fact that the fire in Kei's back is taking up most of his attention.

Kageyama carries him without issue, Kei expects nothing less from a God who spends his days bending the universe to his will. It is strange though, and he supposes that he would have a problem with the situation if he were in the right mindset.

But he's not, so he allows himself to be carried.

Faintly, he can hear Shouyou's voice, but it drifts. Kei isn't sure if his hearing is starting to go as well, or if Shouyou is dropping his voice to talk to Kageyama.

He doesn't think he really cares all that much about what they're talking about.

Kei manages to keep himself awake all the way back to his shared home. If he had all of his faculties together, He would know that Yamaguchi was still out, but that's not exactly his number one priority.

"'m fine now," he slurs.

"You're not."

It's Kageyama who replies, Kei can feel his voice rumbling, he's never felt such vibrations before.

After a few moments, he finds himself on his bed. He's on his stomach, head turned to the side.

"Pocket," he says. Sugawara's blessing is back in its package, and he's not worried about his glasses cracking; it's just uncomfortable.

Shouyou removes both objects and sets them somewhere Kei can't see.

"There's pain coming from your back," Shouyou says quietly, "Can I take a look? I can send Kageyama out."

Kei doesn't remember if healing is one of the Sun God's aspects or not, and he really doesn't care.

"Already knows," Kei says.

They all know, and if Shouyou can make the pain go away, then he doesn't mind baring his back.

Maybe.

He can't see anything, what with his face being buried in his pillow, but he can feel. Kageyama stands against the wall, and Shouyou stands at Kei's side.

Instinctively, he flinches. Shouyou's hands, a blistering heat, press square between Kei's shoulders. The fire flares for a split second before it splutters out. A heavy warmth spreads through Kei's body, seeping into his muscles and he's starting to get drowsy.

"Your shoulders," Shouyou starts.

No doubt he's realized the state of Kei's back. The micro fractures in his bones don't go away, wounds caused by magic are finicky that way. Channeling Sugawara's power through the blessing has only made the cracks deeper, more noticeable. It's not like he's going to die. Healing comas are always an option, but Kei doesn't fancy missing a couple hundred years just so he can be without pain.

"How long have they been like this?"

"Since the incident," Kageyama answers for Kei when the latter just presses his face deeper into his blanket. "How bad are they now?"

"It's like they're shattered."

If Kei didn't know better, he'd think that Shouyou sniffled, and that Kageyama sounded wholeheartedly concerned. But of course he knows better.

"I'm fixing them," Shouyou says suddenly, taking long strides back towards the bed.

Kei has the words ready, he's going to tell Shouyou that it's impossible. It's been a long while since his wings were bodily ripped from his back, a couple of lifetimes isn't long enough to fix something like this. He can deal with the pain, he's managed this far.

Kei's going to tell him, but then Shouyou is glowing white hot and everything is burning.

He registers screaming, realizes that it's coming from him. He doesn't recognize it though. He hasn't screamed like this in such a long time that his mind tells him, just for a split second, that it's not him.

But it is.

His vision fades to black and all he feels is falling. He's falling again, and he can't fly. He can't save himself. The ground is coming up, if he focuses, if he pulls himself together enough, he can call upon something. Surely some aspect he has rule over will help him. Akaashi's not here, there's nothing to slow his fall.

It stops.

Kei's dragging in breaths he doesn't need, nerves fried, mind rattled. He's not entirely sure what just happened.

"It hurts," Shouyou says, "but it's quicker than anything else."

He sounds almost sheepish.

On shaky arms, Kei pushes himself up, refusing to jump at Kageyama's hand on his back. Once he's sitting upright, he rolls his shoulders back, surprised when he realizes that the fire is gone. There's still pain, but it's lessened, more of a dull thud than the sharp swing of an axe.

"Thank you," his voice is hoarse, it almost doesn't sound.

His door swings open, a very out of breath and panicked Yamaguchi stands there, his spear in hand, the tip already glowing with concentrated Starlight

"Kageyama? Hinata?" he asks.

"It's fine," Kei says.

"I just got back, I heard screaming."

"It's fine," he repeats. Kei goes to stand but Kageyama pushes him back down.

"Not yet."

"You need to rest, otherwise the magic will fade," Shouyou says.

"I'll explain," Kageyama says to Yamaguchi. The two leave Kei and Shouyou to go into the hall.

"How come you never said anything about your back being like that?" Shouyou asks after a moment.

"It wasn't an issue," Kei says stiffly, lying back slowly.

"But-" Shouyou takes a breath, "It did help right? You feel better?"

"Yes."

As Shouyou's smile spreads, he grows brighter. Kei squints against the light and Shouyou draws in his wings to dim himself.

"Great!" He springs up onto his feet, light and airy even without his wings. "Kageyama and I have to get back, but I'm coming back to check on you"

Kei simply nods and Shouyou bounds out the door. Yamaguchi comes in a moment later, without his spear, and takes a seat next to Kei. He helps the Moon God lay down, his eyes drawn to the marks swirling along Kei's back.

"Kageyama said your-"

"It's fine now."

"Kei."

"I'm being completely truthful."

The package with Sugawara's blessing sits on Kei's desk. He doesn't know what it is, Kei knows he doesn't, but Yamaguchi would be an idiot if he couldn't recognize the power radiating off of it.

"I can't ask what happened, can I?" Yamaguchi asks after a moment.

"Even if you did, I couldn't answer."

Yamaguchi sighs and Kei almost feels guilty, but he's more bothered than he is upset. Of all of his aspects, he hates secret keeping more than anything. He despises it so much. He can't tell Yamaguchi, he can't tell anyone about the secrets he puts into the keys.

"Kageyama said you needed rest, you're not going anywhere near your workshop until you're recovered." Yamaguchi pats his leg and stands up.

Kei plans on rebutting, saying he can go to his workshop any time he damn well pleases, but his eyelids droop and he feels his body grow heavy.

He's asleep before Yamaguchi gets to the door.

"Sleep well, Tsuki."

* * *

I'm still debating on whether I want this to be TsukiHinaKage where all three of them are poly, or KageHina and TsukiHina with just Hinata being the poly partner. I don't know, I'll figure it out I guess. Anyhow, my computer is being a little glitchy so I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to upload the next chapter, hopefully soon.

As always, if you've got questions about which characters are Gods of what, or just questions in general, please ask! You can hit me up here, or on tumblr


	6. Secrets in Sea Caves

You all are absolutely wonderful! I've received some wonderful comments here, and questions on tumblr that have just made my whole week, thank you so much!

* * *

The view from the spire has always held Kei's interest, despite how he pretends otherwise. From the window, he can see the rays of light stretch over the sky, sun or moon it doesn't matter. He can see the magic gleaming off the Palace, the smoke billowing from the forge, he can see the tides lap at the beach. Everything is just as wondrous, but it's different.

The Palace gleams because of the enchantments for defense spelled over it, the forge spits out smoke because Kageyama is working nonstop to churn out weapon modifications for everyone. The tides are still a matter unknown to Kei, but he has a feeling that someone will come spill a secret to him eventually.

He doesn't have very many keys, and none of them are from the Gods he knows, they're old secrets, the first generation. But this war is theirs now. It's Kei's, and Yamaguchi's, and Sugawara's, and everyone else's.

He's never fought in a war before. Training is different, hurling magic and outsmarting spelled dummies is one thing.

The chains rattle against his wrists, they can sense the impending fight.

"Kei, let's go."

Akiteru stands in the doorway, his wings tucked to his back. He's already dressed for battle, shining armour he's had since the first war, all spelled with defensive magic. It's not fullbody, they don't need such a thing, but Akiteru has his arms and legs covered with guards, and he's wearing chain mail beneath his black tunic. His dark orange sash is indicative of his age, all participants of the first war have them.

Kei is dressed similarly, save that his sash is lighter, and he has a physical weapon. Akiteru has the winds on his side, he always says he has no need for a weapon. Kei wants to smack him. His brother is too stupid, he's terrible at guarding himself, which is why Kei has taken a measure.

The full body shield had been a duel effort of Kageyama and Nishinoya as well as Kyoutani, an impenetrable wall to protect Akiteru in battle.

"Kei-"

"You'll need it," Kei says simply, stepping up onto the balcony rail. He dives off without hesitation, closing his eyes as the wind rushes past him. He catches one of Akiteru's updrafts and unfurls his wings. His brother follows and soon enough they're on their way to the Palace Courtyard where everyone else is gathering.

Yamaguchi waves him over, and Akiteru settles beside Saeko. Asahi, Kuroo, Oikawa and Ushijima have already gone, taking Semi, Kinoshita, Kindaichi, Goshiki and Lev with them. Everyone else waiting for their orders. Kei already knows that Kozume will not be present.

Bit by bit, they're sent off. Kei is to handle the forces coming from the North with Yamaguchi, Saeko and Kageyama. His brother is with Daichi and Yamamoto, handling a small force coming from the West.

Nishinoya, Komi, and Yaku are to stay put with Moniwa and his team.

They all split apart, following Sugawara's directions.

It's not going to stay this orderly for long, Kei knows that at a base level. Eventually, he'll lose sight of his friends, it'll be nothing but slaying monsters left and right until all he can smell is blood and decay. It will become trudging through corpses, wings stained red and black, his chains rattling as he breathes in tainted air. His magic will drip darker, his vision will edge black. He will be by himself, separated, not knowing who is alive, who is injured, and who has been killed.

But for now, he's grateful for the organization the war is starting out with.

"Are you afraid?" Yamaguchi asks. He flies beside Kei, grip entirely too tight on his spear.

"I would be a fool not to be."

"Do you think we'll win?"

They used to have an oracle, Kei wouldn't mind asking for foresight. But the first war claimed all sorts of aspects, and they've yet to be inherited.

"There's going to be a price," he says at last, calling his chains out, "We'll win if we pay it, and lose if we don't."

Kei opens his eyes as Yamaguchi is about to respond.

His room is glowing, unlike it usually does. As opposed to the soft blue light he keeps in place, it's an ever changing mess of multicolor. He squints, trying to take in all that is happening. Muffled voices break through whatever haze he's under, he can pick out two distinct pitches, and the rumbling breath of a third.

Kei is on his bed, lying on his back, and covered in far too many blankets.

He doesn't really have to breathe, but he does so anyways, if only for the calming effect it has. Slow, in and out, repeat.

It's warm, he's warm, but it's pleasant. He's not entirely sure if these are his blankets. After a few moments, he cracks his eyes open, blinking.

The two voices he identified belong to Yamaguchi and Shouyou, which means the breathing is Kageyama's. All three of them are on the floor.

Yamaguchi and Shouyou are playing a game, the former has colored star dust hovering in an anti gravity field between himself and Shouyou, and each of them have shining marbles in their hands, a few holding steady in the empty space. Shouyou's marbles are orange and red, Yamaguchi's are white and blue.

Kageyama sits against the wall. Most of his focus is devoted to a black, leather bound journal, but he glances up occasionally to see how the game is going. Yamaguchi grins and selects one of the marbles from his hand, he skips it off some of the ones he has in the field before it strikes the dead center of Shouyou's. The room erupts into red streaked blue light, and Shouyou pouts.

"You're way too good at this," he says.

"That's because I invented it." Yamaguchi grins and his constellations burn brighter for a split second.

Kei doesn't know what all is going on. It's not so strange for Yamaguchi to be in his room, but Shouyou is a bit of a surprise, Kageyama even more so.

"Kei!"

Yamaguchi's looking at him, having realized that he's awake.

"Tsukishima!" Shouyou jumps up, nearly smacking his head into the ceiling. Even Kageyama puts his book down and stands up.

"I'm fine," Kei says reflexively, already starting to push himself up.

Yamaguchi's helping him up without hesitation, hands carefully avoiding the scar sets on Kei's back.

"We were getting worried," Shouyou says, sitting beside him.

"Why?"

"You've been asleep for awhile, longer than we thought you would be." Kageyama takes a step closer but hesitates and stays put.

"You feel better though, right? I've never fixed shoulders before, or backs in general." Shouyou looks all too happy with himself for the words he's just said. Kei balks silently, trying to ignore what he's just heard. Healing doesn't really require extensive knowledge, it's magic after all. But it is incredibly easy to mess something up if one doesn't know what they're doing at a base level.

Yamaguchi laughs and Kei is pretty sure that the huffy noise Kageyama makes can be considered a chuckle.

"I feel fine, thank you." It's true, his back feels better than it has in a long while. It's almost unsettling, not feeling the micro fissures in his bones.

Shouyou's eyes cast light across his face, his smile is wide enough that Kei would think it painful if he didn't know that Shouyou smiled like that all the time.

"Good," he says simply.

* * *

They're gathered on the shoreline at the base of the cliffs.

Yamaguchi and Tanaka have already dealt with their stars, so the former sits in the sand, laughing as Shouyou talks. Yamaguchi has forgone his usual robes for a simple tunic, his sandals are nowhere in sight, though Kei can see the summoning ring for his spear on his left thumb. He wasn't always so cautious, there were days he left his summoning ring in his room, not expecting trouble. Not anymore, the inside of the ring is worn and faded from how many times he's spun it. Worn by the nights Yamaguchi wakes suddenly, fingers twisting the ring and a split second later he's holding his spear. But he's smiling now, looking very much at ease despite the ever present tension in his shoulders.

Shouyou is as bright as ever, wings warping the air around him until it blurs like a mirage. He's not wearing a shirt, just a pair of loose pants cinched at his waist and ankles. They're orange and red and white, and Kei can only describe them as burning. With his chest bared, Kei can make out a scar spanning his left hip, just barely reaching his ribs. Shouyou's never mentioned it before, but Kei doesn't exactly expect him to. He's gesturing wildly, sparks flying off his skin quite literally.

Kozume is in the water, glowing a faint blue, his breathing mask is dropped around his neck. He's not treading, simply existing, the water seems darker around him but Kei supposes that's normal. His ever changing eyes are transfixed on Shouyou, dutifully following his movements as water shapes dance in the air about him. It seems as though the two of them are telling Yamaguchi a story, Kozume provides visuals while Shouyou talks in a combination of rushed words and sound effects.

Kageyama sits with the waves lapping at his feet, nose buried in his notebook. Kei's never actually seen the pages inside the book, but he knows what it is. Weapons. Endless sketches and ink drawings of weapons, old and new. At first, it was simply note taking, but it turned into a catalogue of his failings after the war. Every weapon he's ever made is drawn there, several pages full of improvements he could have, should have, made.

Kei had told them he'd join them. Now he's not sure.

He'd woken with the phantom weight of wings against his back, feathers brushing his skin. And he'd kept his eyes shut against the thought that it wasn't real. Because it wasn't. He stayed in bed, content to imagine, content to remember. There were days when he would join Yamaguchi in the sky and they'd travel to the edges of the realm. Yamaguchi would accompany him on material expeditions, filling the quiet he now finds so inviting.

Eventually, he'd had to get up. He found himself in his workshop for the majority of the day, waiting for something he didn't know.

Shouyou arrived at the middle of the day, when the sun was centered perfectly in the sky.

He told Kei that Kageyama and Kozume were down at the shoreline, and that Yamaguchi was on his way.

So now Kei stands atop the cliff, remembering how it felt to dive from high up, feeling the wind strike at his skin, the sudden tug as he unfurled his wings and shot back up. He remembers when he was small, just getting a hold of his aspects, but he could fly well enough. He'd spend most of his time in the sky, unwilling to set foot on the ground because the open air was so much better. They're fond memories he refuses to let himself feel bad about. He could be down there in seconds.

Instead, he bides his time, taking the winding path down to the shore.

Kageyama notices him first, apparently attuned to his presence because the second Kei steps into the sand, he looks up. Kageyama doesn't smile much, Kei can appreciate that, it's a nice contrast to Shouyou's blinding grins.

The other three have yet to notice him, so he takes a seat beside Kageyama, leaning back and tipping his head so he can see the sky.

"Sho was getting worried," Kageyama says after a moment. He's already gone back to scribbling in his book.

During the war, Kei worked with Kageyama for a while, after he was separated from Yamaguchi. They made a fairly formidable pair, Kei specialized in defense, Kageyama in offense. As the Weaponsmith, Kageyama has full wield over any kind of physical weapon. That skill came in great use when they fought. Kageyama's personal weapon appears like nothing more than a simple long knife, but it has the ability to shift. From a knife to a sword, to dual battle axes, throwing knives, scythes, chains, a bow and arrows, Kageyama's weapon was deadly in the war, still is, but now he has no purpose for it.

Not yet anyways, if Sugawara's potential plan is anything to go by.

"My apologies," Kei says dryly.

Kageyama doesn't look even the smallest bit put off, he just shrugs and continues on with his drawings.

"Tsukishima!" Shouyou swoops over, kicking sand over Kei's legs upon landing. Kei forgets he's supposed to be standoffish for just a moment, and he doesn't bother scowling or making an attempt to brush away the sand.

"Hinata," he nods his head in greeting. Yamaguchi joins them and Kozume heaves himself onto a rock, unwilling to leave the water.

"Took you long enough," Yamaguchi says. His tone contrasts the concern in his eyes and Kei just knows that Yamaguchi has figured just why he took as long as he did.

Kei is glad that Yamaguchi has the sense not to bring it up here.

"Yeah, come on! Kenma's going to take us diving to a sea cave." Shouyou jumps up, wings propelling him high enough that he can flip, feet over head, and he stays hovering.

Kozume sits up.

"I figured you and Tobio would want to see it," he says, "It's full of material I haven't seen in some time."

That gets Kei's attention, and Kageyama's too. They're both standing in a second, while Yamaguchi and Shouyou stifle their giggles.

Kei's no stranger to Kozume's brand of magic, his ability to bring others beneath the waves without them drowning. Kozume's a bit of a special case, there used to be rumors that he was what remained of a line of cross beasts, sirens and the monsters at the bottom of the seas. Those rumors were put to rest, but Kei can't help thinking there was some truth to it. Kozume's magic feels different than everyone else's. It feels older, untapped, which is unbelievable given the power he already wields. Kei's not afraid of Kozume though.

If not because he trusts him, then because if Kei were to die, all the keys release their secrets into the open.

They don't need to breathe, not really, but most of them do because it feels right. The threat of drowning is very real then. That aside, the pressure at the depths they'll be going won't exactly be pleasant, and it's not like any of them are well versed in water travel.

Kozume parts the water enough for them to stand in the wet sand. Shouyou tucks his wings to his back and Kageyama vanishes his book. Then they're all submerged and Kei feels his body temperature plummet for a split second.

After a moment, Kei realizes that he's closed his eyes.

When he opens them, it's nothing but swirling blue and green for all of a handful of heartbeats. When it clears, he can make out the orange glow that is Shouyou, and the shining spotlights that are Kozume's eyes. The Nymph has his breathing mask up, the water circulating in and out.

Given that Kozume spends a disproportionate amount of his time under water, the mask eases the strain on Kenma's body to convert the water into breathable air. He doesn't have gills, or any other visible characteristics, which is part of the reason the old rumors stopped.

The four of them are encased in a magical outline, Kei takes a test breathe and follows Kenma.

The cave is farther than Kei initially thought. They move deeper, Shouyou's glow hasn't changed but it's lost its overwhelming effect. Yamaguchi's constellations are no less brilliant either, but they've changed. No longer heroes or objects, they now display the beasts of the water that he's put up in the past.

Eventually, Kozume waves them through an opening in a rock wall. The entrance is just big enough for them to enter in pairs. Yamaguchi focuses on making his stars glow brighter and follows Kozume, providing light for Kageyama while Shouyou sticks close to Kei.

They surface in a cave that's nearly circular. Kozume lets them all get out of the water before he reverses his magic. Kei feels heavier, and he knows that's how he's supposed to feel, but that doesn't mean he has to like it.

At Kozume's prompting, Shouyou and Yamaguchi summon a few lights, illuminating the space around them.

Kageyama gasps audibly and Kei's eyes widen.

The red light from Shouyou hits the gleaming veins in the rock, reflecting back pink beams, while Yamaguchi's blue light results in something akin to periwinkle. From the darkest of silvers to nearly see through, Kei hasn't seen this since the first war.

There's no name for it, it's nothing they can absolutely identify. The signature it holds is ancient, dusty but thrumming deep and steady. It's nearly heady, and Kei feels as though a single touch would put him to sleep. If he focuses, he can identify parts of it. Strains of Twilight, First Blood, Last Breath,among an endless amount of other materials, blended until they're very nearly one.

The material isn't exactly banned, but it makes the others uneasy as it comes from their old enemies. The material dripped from their wounds and seeped into the ground, tunneling down before growing into a useable substance. Of course, each strain is different, Kei could probably trace the events of the battle by divining which materials are mixed in. Whichever weapon, whichever whisper of a magical signature, slayed the enemy, its essence is here. It's different from blood, given that Kei knows exactly what the looks like, and this isn't it. There is old magic in these veins, and even if he can't used the material itself, drawing the magic out could help.

If not for the moons, then for personal use.

Kei's a little too entranced by the light reflecting from the veins that he barely catches the conversation around him.

"We need to tell Suga," Kageyama says. He's crouched in front of a far wall, viciously working his bottom lip through his teeth.

"Why?" Shouyou asks.

"I don't remember a battle happening here."

"Well, it could have happened nearby," Yamaguchi supplies uncertainly, "I mean, we all know it travels."

"Yes, but we're out quite a ways, the water was neutral ground."

"Regardless," Kei cuts in, "Sugawara should be alerted of this deposit, if only for the knowledge that it exists. Battles happened all around, it's possible that a body was tossed into the sea, or something of that nature."

He catches Kozume's eyes as he crosses to the other side of the cavern. Kozume can tell when anything of significance happens in his waters, and a gathering like this would certainly call his attention. If a body dropped into the waves, he would know.

If they're going to tell Sugawara, he only has a small moment.

Kei knows his own signature like he knows the scars on his body, and finding them isn't an issue. These veins are absolutely crawling with it, the signature left behind by his weapon, by his magic, it's thick.

It's all him.

Obscuring himself isn't an issue. He tunes out his presence for the split second it takes him to thrust his hand into the stone and rip out a small block. He projects a false image over the hole, and vanishes the block.

The others are still talking when Kei rejoins them.

* * *

This is the longest chapter yet! Woo! I'm planning for more exploratory and explanation backgrounds in the next chapters, as well as a bit more clarification for the mechanics of this AU...hopefully.

As always, if you've got any questions please ask! I really like answering questions!

Thank you all again!


	7. Musings

Standby for slightly graphic memories, blood and bones, it's fairly brief, my apologies.

* * *

Kei knows for a fact that Kageyama hasn't told Sugawara about the cave yet. Kei is one of the lucky few who can show up without prior notice. Sugawara's fairly lax about protocol like that anyways, but Kei's visits almost always take precedent, it's an unusual perk of having his particular aspects.

Sugawara's personal office is still something of a marvel. Kei's seen it enough times that he could probably recreate it, though there's always something minutely different each time he visits.

The ceiling is high, home to millions of lights and hovering charms. Paper birds make their nests among the support beams, crows and owls and swans, Sugawara makes them and enchants them to be little messengers. Whenever they're not busy, they roost in Sugawara's office.

Bookshelves line the walls, filled nearly to bursting with records, all ordered haphazardly. Ribbon markers and enchanted labels, old baubles, and special letters add life where there is none. One shelf in particular is home to a massive collection of half enchanted stick men, glowing flowers, shakily floating spheres, and moving pictures on faded paper. Sugawara is nostalgic, he keeps everything he's been gifted. Kei can point out one of the first 'moons' he'd ever made, it's nothing more than a spelled oblong sphere, charmed to glow and pull small objects into a weak gravity field. He'd been proud of it when he showed it to Sugawara, so proud that he'd then gone and made another to give to Akiteru, and another to Ukai.

Oh, to be young again.

"Kei, I wasn't expecting you so soon," Sugawara says, looking up from the table that dominates the center of the room. It's full of near liquid lights, pulsing like trillions of tiny heart beats, all different colors. They swirl in groups, in worlds, some shoot up quick fading trails of shimmer, while other tumble and travel.

And Sugawara stands there, dragging his finger through a puddle of pink, guiding the lights that follow into another of blue.

"I came to return your blessing, and let you know in advance that Kageyama or Kozume will be arriving to alert you to the presence of a sea cave." Kei pulls the package with Sugawara's blessing in it from his pocket and tosses it lightly in the air. It floats across the room to settle on a shelf, directed with no physical instruction from Sugawara.

"What is the importance of this sea cave?" Sugawara asks, turning to face Kei properly, moving until he's at the end of the table, within arm's reach.

"It isn't of importance but they believe it is. The cave contains veins of material from the war, the composition of the material indicates my presence but I would prefer they not know about that. Kageyama is under the impression that a secret battle occurred due to the sheer amount present."

"Of course, I won't say anything. I'm sure I can think of something."

It's personal preference and nothing more. If they know, that will mean questions, questions lead to attention. It's not just for Kei's sake either. If the others find out why he was over the water that day, that will shine a light on the secrets Kei is sworn to keeping.

Secrets that even Sugawara isn't one hundred percent privy to.

"Thank you."

Kei makes it halfway to the door before he's stopped by Sugawara's voice.

"The matter with the seals?" he calls. "How did that go?"

"Everything is fine. It was one seal, I repaired it. There were no complications."

Sugawara nods, one of his hands drifting up to his chest.

"And how was he? Did he appear troubled?"

"No, he looked fine. Kunimi keeps him in darkness in order to keep him at peace."

"Ah, right. Well, thank you."

Sugawara turns around, and that's Kei's dismissal.

He can hear everything in the Palace, the walls carry all the noise to him, either to annoy him or because they think they're being helpful.

Kei doesn't actually know.

Yachi's in the garden with Kiyoko. The nymph is giggling as Kiyoko enchants the flowers on her skin to change colors. Asahi's with them, his head in Yachi's lap as she braids a crown of daisies into his hair.

Tanaka's in Kyoutani's workroom, keeping up a one sided conversation while the latter sits at his loom. The walls whisper that Kyoutani's making tapestries of the war, like it's some kind of way to cope with his self appointed shortcomings during that time. Tanaka says something that makes Kyoutani smile, and that in itself is a rare occurrence.

The walls carry to him the sounds of singing from Akaashi's outlook. Bokuto's with him, Akaashi's teaching him the words to old songs in dead languages, and Bokuto sings them back with perfect clarity.

Kei raises a hand in parting as he passes through Moniwa's gate.

The sun is just starting to go down. If he wanted to, Kei could look up and see Shouyou flying through the sky.

And he does want to, but he doesn't.

He just walks.

Yamaguchi's signature is nowhere to be found when he gets back, so Kei sits down outside, tipping his head back.

There's too much swirling around in his head. Between the sea cave, the war secrets, the prison, and lying to everyone's face nearly every waking moment, he wants nothing more than to take a break. He could fly before, disappear into the clouds and glide until he felt calm again. Aimless flight was always the best, no pattern, no destination, the only sound was his wings flapping, just Kei.

He misses it.

Just because the secrets go into the keys doesn't mean that Kei forgets them. Some of his friends have let their memories go blurry. They have lifetimes stored away in their heads, memories of incarnations, of battlegrounds and parties, meetings and easy passing days. Only a select few have perfect memories, Kei is one of them, Kuroo and Sugawara are as well, Akaashi's a given.

But they all remember bits and pieces of the war.

Yamaguchi's nightmares are only snippets, a single flash of sprayed blood or weapons biting into bodies. The memory is muddled after a short while, and then Yamaguchi is back to being Yamaguchi.

Daichi spends his days feeling phantom blood staining his skin. He sees the countless bodies he's tended laid out in the Palace Infirmary. Sees the faces of his friends slowly regain their color as they come back, before he remembers all the ones he couldn't save.

Nishinoya and the rest of the defense retain the pride that they protected the Palace from being breached. But Kei knows that they think they could have done more, they could have fought. They were stuck there, bound to protect the Palace, they couldn't protect their friends.

Yahaba lives with the guilt, Kunimi with excuse that what he's doing is right. Yachi wasn't part of the war, but her inherited aspects remind her of what was lost. Akaashi was incapacitated, unable to help. Kozume watched a slaughter, and Tanaka lost himself to the point that many of them had been legitimately scared of him.

Kei remembers with perfect clarity. He remembers flying, at this point separated from everybody else, blood drying in his feathers, and seeping into his skin. He was tired, having just emerged victorious from a skirmish, and all he could think of was the way his chains cut through rough textured skin, and the sound of bones crunching. He remembers the sudden impact from above, how he was plummeting a short ways before he righted himself, chains already rattling and ready for a fight.

He remembers exactly how it felt when his wings were ripped from his back. He can feel his bones breaking and blood running down his back, can remember as if he's reliving it, how he fell from the sky, unable to save himself.

Kei blinks slowly, as if doing so will erase the images from his head and the phantom pains from his back.

The secrets he keeps only make it so he can remember everybody else's pain as well.

Easing back, Kei lies down properly, eyes lazy dancing from star to star.

He's ready to sleep after a few minutes, eyes fluttering shut every few seconds, and Kei doesn't really care that he's outside.

"It's still really pretty, I can't believe it sometimes."

Shouyou's voice cuts through the quiet and Kei is suddenly very much awake. Sitting up takes a little more effort though, but eventually he manages to push himself to sit properly.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

"Just wanted to drop by."

Kei hums his acknowledgment and then it falls quiet. Shouyou's attention is still fixed on the moon, Kei's favorite, the one from the first time Shouyou arrived.

"Can I ask you something?" Shouyou's voice is soft, void of its usual energy, it sounds almost serious.

"Go ahead." Kei really doesn't know what Shouyou could possibly want to ask him, but something says he's tried asking others. When in doubt, Kei is the one to go to for information, the problem is that he can't reveal anything.

"What was the war like?"

Kei's eyes widen a fraction.

"I tried asking Tobio, he didn't give me a straight answer."

"Why do you want to know?"

If Kei could wipe the war from his memory, he has a strong feeling he'd select that option in place of what he's currently living.

"The dreams," Shouyou says after a moment, "I get pieces sometimes, I just wanna know."

Kei takes in a deep breath and tucks his legs up, resting his arms atop his knees. Part of him feels lucky. The few, those like Shouyou and Yachi, are different than the rest of them. Yachi was little more than a powerful forest nymph before she inherited some of Saeko's aspects. Shouyou is the new incarnation of the Sun God. The original died during the end of the war, and Shouyou's only recently appeared. Sometimes it's fast, other times it's a slow burn.

Akiteru's aspects were never redistributed, and no new god has emerged to take his place.

Kei is very grateful for the fact.

"I can't say much about it," Kei says at last, "but, at its basest, the war was horrible. Our casualties weren't as devastating as we thought they would be, but they were still too numerous for our liking. There was no glory, it turned into a battle for survival at that point. We were all desperate by the end of it, willing to do-"

Kei's throat constricts momentarily, a warning sign to choose his next words carefully.

"We just wanted it to end. Be glad you were not there."

Shouyou nods after a moment.

"Is that- is that how...your wings?" he asks after a moment.

Kei draws in a sharp breath and he debates on just sitting in silence until Shouyou leaves, but he finds himself opening his mouth.

"I was ambushed," he says flatly, already in the process of detaching himself from the memory. He doesn't like talking about it, something about speaking it aloud has always made him feel strange. But the words slip out all the same. Shouyou puts a hand on his shoulder, sending a burning wave of heat through Kei's body before it evens out into a pleasantly warm sensation.

Ke readies himself to speak again.

"I was already worn out from a small battle a short time prior. In the end I was unsuccessful, my wings were ripped from my back and I fell from the sky. I never saw the monster again, and I don't know what happened to my wings."

And maybe that's the worst thing.

Wings aren't just a physical extension, they're a magical one as well. Kei had no use for a physical shield, not when he had his wings. The strongest defense he'd ever had is gone, taken from him. Wings don't grow back, at least not when they're ripped out by the base. Clipped wings, wings run through by swords, patches of feathers burned away; those can be healed. But when they're removed in their entirety, there's no hope.

Kei's felt exposed ever since.

The thought that the monster kept his wings, it makes Kei see red. He thinks he can sense them sometimes, little bursts of energy that tell him to follow, but he chalks it up to hope. It's easier that way.

"Oh," Shouyou says simply. His wings flutter restlessly against his back, stirring up a warm breeze before he lets out a breath.

Kei keeps his eyes on the moon, stays quiet until Shouyou speaks up again.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For sharing that with me, and for telling me about the war, everybody else kind of tiptoes around it."

"They do so for good reason."

Kei takes a moment to look over Shouyou from the corner of his eye

The little god is dressed casually, a light orange sash cinching together a mess of airy, white fabric, no shoes in sight. Beneath the sash is what looks to be a holster of some kind.

"New weapon?" Kei asks, because sitting in strained silence isn't going to do them any good. He used to enjoy the silence, he wonders what ever happened to that.

Shouyou brightens considerably, his entire face taking on a golden glow.

"Kageyama finished it recently." He picks through the fabric to get at whatever hangs from the belt.

Shouyou's weapon is in two parts; identical lengths made of, what appears to simply be, Light. He holds the ends together and they fuse into a single staff. Shouyou looks quite proud of himself, Kei can detect the traces of protective magic interlaced within the staff and comes to the conclusion that Kageyama didn't want to take any chances with Shouyou getting hurt.

"Have you practiced with it?" Kei asks.

"Yeah, I'm getting pretty good. One of these days, I'm gonna beat Tanaka in a practice match."

Kei chuckles at the notion.

Seeing Tanaka in the heat of battle is something of a sight. Kei wouldn't step between him and his enemy for all the moons in the worlds. He's a brilliant mess of fire and rage, finesse and brute force. Red magic tainted pink and black race along his skin until it'd be understandable if he were to be mistaken for an elemental spirit. He's quick, sharp, and he's loud. He used to fight with a smile but now he just grits his teeth as smoke rises off his body. His weapon is a pair of brass knuckles, containing enough energy to level a mountain range. Kageyama had infused them with First Blood and Sunfire. But he also wears Saeko's bangles, they sheath his hands and arms in liquid metal and fire, and allow him invulnerability in those areas.

Practice matches are a little different. Obviously, Tanaka isn't going to go for a kill shot, but he ends his fights quickly, without the use of his sister's weapon.

Where he stands now, Shouyou doesn't stand a chance.

"Can you train with me? Kageyama's busy doing stuff for Suga, so he only has time when it's late."

Kei has half a mind to refuse. What could he possible teach Shouyou that the weapon genius couldn't?

"Why not?" He finds himself saying, mentally slapping himself. It's not like he doesn't enjoy Shouyou's company, though he's loathe to admit that fact to anyone but himself, he doesn't know if he can handle adopting a teaching role.

"Yay! Thank you!" Shouyou shoots into the air, quickly becoming a bright dot in the sky before he's zooming back down. He looks too proud of himself, fists propped on his hips, his hair madly windswept, and his glowing smile.

Kei doesn't stop the grin that twitches at the corner of his lips.

"I don't know when I'll be over, but it will be soon!" Shouyou says. "I can't wait! Bye Tsukishima!"

Then he's off again. Kei raises a belated hand in parting and waves.

"Bye Shouyou."

* * *

I'm gonna be on brief recess for a bit, mainly because I'm little more than a puddle of stress and anxiety at the moment, but I promise it won't be for long. I'll still be available to answer any questions so please feel free to ask if you have them.

To those of you who've commented: thank you so much! I'm sorry I don't always respond, it's mostly because I don't know how to without sounding like a broken record, but I really do appreciate seeing your thoughts!

I'll update as soon as I start feeling better, thank you everyone for sticking with me!


	8. Through Magic

I felt guilty and was all 'it's been ages since i've updated last, oh no!' and it was literally two days since the last chapter, so it's not so bad. Apparently, my version of a temporary break isn't as long as other people's? In any case, I'm back! It's been eleven days, but I feel a bit better, so here's chapter eight!

* * *

It's a slaughter, that's the only word for it. Merciless, blades flash down, biting through skin and cleanly breaking bones. Blood sprays, heady and unnaturally warm. It stains his skin, his clothes, his hair, seeps into his weapon. Guilt has yet to set in, not so long as he keeps moving, he can put it off a little longer. He takes another step, another thud as his boots hit the ground one after the other. He sheathes his sword, raises his hands instead. This is easier, less messy, faster. Magic gathers at his fingertips, even as tears gather in his eyes. With a whispered word, the magic, tinged green and white, flies outward. Tiny arrowheads of light pierce through his opponents, envelopes them and wrings them dry until they are nothing but a husk. He keeps moving, if he keeps moving-

Betraying orders would be so easy, it _is_ easy. They're all busy, he's not fighting, can't fight at the moment. All it takes is a simple action. He can do it, divert them. He can bring them back when all of this is done, just square them away, set them apart. If they can just stay there, they'll be safe. They won't have to wait for another God to step up, their aspects won't be redistributed, they can return as themselves. All he has to do is enter the Grey Matter, fiddle with the mechanics. Stasis, a hideaway, he can do _something_. He's seen too many friends fall under their enemy's hands, he wants them back. With a few precise motions, he severs the Grey Matter from the rest of the realm, temporarily allowing it to exist on its own, blocking it off from the doorways and corridors. This way-

Not his fault, the screaming isn't his fault. It's not his choice, not anymore. He threw in his lot, there's nothing more he can do now except turn his back. He can't even do that though, eyes riveted to the beings that aren't too far off. They're running, hoping, but his borders are closed, no one can get in. He doesn't know them, not really, he doesn't make it a habit to associate with the others that often. Their lives mean nothing. Just turn around, and he can attest to not being aware of what was occurring. Just ignore the screams and the wet glide of a blade through-

There's a gash in her side, taking up most of her attention, so she can't see the panic etched into his face. It's not a good position, not good at all. This is no good, and it's all his fault. She breathes in, gurgles, and promptly spits the blood from her mouth, offering him a red stained smile despite the tired fire in her eyes. She insists that she'll be fine, he's not so sure. No, this can't happen, not when it's all his fault, and she doesn't even _know._ All his fault, all his fault, all his fault. He tries, magic gathering around him, encircling her, trying to help. But he fails. All his fault, all his fault, all-

Kei opens his eyes and groans.

His skin is slick with sweat, his hair stuck to his face, his heart pounds erratically in his chest. The sheets beneath him are twisted, his blankets tangled at his feet. It's not good, not at all. Kei runs his hands over his face, quiety disgusted when they come away damp. He kicks off the blankets and strips out of his sweat soaked clothes.

Fatigue has set in, a night spent in terror always seems to have that effect, so he settles for simply drying his skin and slipping into a pair of pants. He'll be cross with himself later, it's certain, but he can't be bothered at the moment. Blindly, he gropes around for his glasses, shoving them onto his face without care.

Barefoot, he trudges to his workshop, silently opening the door and ignoring the feeling of phantom feathers against his back. He summons his keys and selects four from the hundreds sitting in an orderly formation.

One is dark grey, flecked in orange, another is pitch black and inlaid with rubies. The third is dark blue, interspersed with glowing yellow, while the fourth is a hybrid of sorts. The key has a dark green base, speckled with flecks of white and root like veins of brown interrupted abruptly by pink blotches that could easily appear to be flowers.

Kei stares at them, wishing for them to just shut up. But they won't. And he remembers. He can feel the blood soaking his skin, the frigid air in the Grey Matter, the sand between his toes, the guilt crushing his heart.

He wants it to stop.

Staring isn't going to do anything for him, but he can't stop the nagging thoughts that tell him to let them go. The secrets in the keys are more dangerous than those in his head. Before going into a key, Kei sees the secrets as if through his own eyes. Anyone else viewing them wouldn't be able to tell whose memory it is. But in the keys, the memory appears from all angles, the viewer can watch as a bystander, see each individual face of those involved. The positive trade off there is that only Kei can unlock them.

This makes him all the more dangerous.

He's not sure how long he spends staring at the keys, only that it's long enough for Shouyou to arrive. The little god pokes his head in and Kei looks up.

"Is now not a good time?" Shouyou asks. Since he first started coming to visit, he's gotten a lot better at reading situations. Kei's grateful for the fact.

Shouyou's right though, it's not. Kei wants to be useless for just a little while longer. Despite that, he finds himself shaking his head, waving Shouyou in, because, and past gods help him, he finds the Sun God's company somewhat comforting.

If only because he's always smiling, and exudes warmth.

"Woah!" Shouyou's at the table in the blink of an eye, hovering over it so he can look at the keys, nose nearly touching one of them.

Kei raises a brow, only slightly amused at Shouyou's fascination.

"I can't ask whose these are huh?"

He _can_ , technically anyways, but Kei doesn't really feel like explaining so he shakes his head.

"Can I touch them?"

There's no harm in doing so.

Kei picks up the black key and holds it out for Shouyou to take. His bright eyes widen, not expecting the weight, but he doesn't comment.

"It's humming!" Shouyou shouts when his fingers close around the key. His eyes start glowing, and he just barely has enough room to flip in midair before settling on the opposite side of the table. He sets the key down when Kei takes note of his muscles straining to keep it up.

None of his keys are light, not really, some simply contain more guilt than others.

"It's heavy," Shouyou notes, staring at the black key, his eyes drifting to the others after a moment. "Are they all like that?"

Shouyou dances his fingers across the other keys, tracing the roots of the green key, running his thumb across the grooves.

"More or less," Kei answers easily.

It must be his tone.

Shouyou's eyes go from a warm yellow brown to something between red and orange.

"You sound tired."

Kei finds himself the victim of highly concentrated attention. Shouyou's gaze flits over Kei's body, like one of Sugawara's paper birds gone haywire, analyzing him.

It doesn't feel bad, but it doesn't feel good either, being under such a careful eye. Even Yamaguchi, when he knows Kei isn't doing well, simply gives him a worried look and does his best to quietly care, despite the fact that it's fairly obvious.

This is new though.

"You're going back to bed," Shouyou decides resolutely, his wings giving a little flap as if to emphasize his point.

"What?"

"Bed." Shouyou flies over the bench and loops his arm through Kei's tugging him along gently. Kei has just enough thought to put the keys away before his sluggish body follows Shouyou without question.

Shouyou keeps his touch light but the warmth still spreads through Kei's body, it's only a little bit uncomfortable. Kei finds himself thinking that this must not be an issue for Kageyama as he spends a lot of his time around molten metals and vaporizing heats. Shouyou must not be a big deal at all.

Kei finds himself on his bed, sitting on the edge, knuckles curled into the blanket. Like this, Shouyou doesn't seem so short, which is laughable all by itself. But the look on the Sun God's face is anything but. He looks genuinely concerned.

Almost hesitantly, Shouyou flaps up into the air, coming to rest next to Kei, a comfortable distance between them.

"Kageyama has nightmares too," he says after a moment, rubbing at the back of his neck.

The effort to console him is appreciated, though Kei knows their proud little Weaponsmith wouldn't be too happy with this fact being spread around. All the same however, Kei knows they all have nightmares, some worse than others.

Sugawara rarely sleeps, his past decisions like to play themselves out in his waking hours, it's just more vivid at night. On the occasions that he does sleep, his screams are enough to wake up the entirety of the Palace occupants. Since the first time, Sugawara has since spelled his room so no one can hear. Daichi is much the same, except he wakes up with the phantom feel of blood on his skin, surrounded by white light as he attempts to heal a wound that is no longer there.

Tanaka sleeps in fits, waking sporadically in the night as he attempts to come to grips with events that have long since passed. He would skip sleep if it weren't for the fact that it's the only way he can still see his sister.

Kuroo outright refuses to sleep, too afraid to see the faces that will most certainly greet him.

Kei can see all of their nightmares, all the secrets they've shared with him. Sugawara, Daichi, Tanaka, Kuroo, Kozume, Moniwa, Asahi, Akaashi, nearly the whole lot of them. He's not the only one who distances himself from the Palace for the fear of being reminded yet again.

"I would be surprised if he didn't."

There had been a lot of pressure on Kageyama in the time leading up to the initial battle. He wasn't one of their heavy hitters, not like Asahi, Ushijima, or Yamamoto, but his aspects brought him close. His body count was high, they'd been put in the high stress areas; Kageyama on the offensive, with Kei acting as his defense. It wasn't so bad with Saeko at their side either, but she'd been the first to get separated from their group, then Yamaguchi, and eventually Kei lost Kageyama as well.

There was never any time to regroup at the Palace, no time to send signals, no time to spare flying up to find anybody. It had been purely combat for every waking moment.

"Does this happen a lot?" Shouyou asks in vague reference to Kei's current run down appearance.

"Occasionally," he answers dryly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. His fatigue is starting to set in deep, pulling him under.

"You should try to sleep again, maybe the nightmares won't be so bad this time, I'll be here when you wake up."

The words should be comforting, and Kei can recognize the effort in the back of his mind, but another part of him worries. Sleeping in front of someone equals vulnerability, which is something Tsukishima Kei _does not_ do.

"I'll wake you up if you have another nightmare."

He really doesn't want to go to sleep, he can stay up, it won't be an issue. But then Shouyou is gently guiding him back to lay down, the heat rolling off him in waves. It's dizzying, pulling Kei further under the shroud of drowsiness.

"Bokuto and Akaashi taught me an old song," Shouyou says, the open question left to hang in the air.

Kei just hums his affirmative. What does he care that Shouyou wants to sing? He's already lost this battle, can feel his eyelids starting to droop, his muscles relaxing until he's little more than a boneless lump over the blankets.

When Shouyou starts singing, the room grows pleasantly warm. Kei cracks one eye open, just enough to see the blurry orange lights rising off Shouyou's body. The little god glows, different than he usually does, it's more of a fine shimmer. With Bokuto as a teacher, it's no wonder that Shouyou's music would have measureable effects. When Bokuto sings, his words drip magic, he glows a comforting pink, and everyone who has heard him starts to as well.

It's no wonder Kei falls asleep without concern.

This time, he watches his dream as if behind a pane of bubble glass. It's nice, preferable in fact, in comparison to the first person dreaming he usually has. He can't make out the fine details of the memory turned secret but he's seen it enough times that he can fill in the blurred parts with clarity.

This scene is familiar enough, he's seen it hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of times. The shimmer of green life magic enveloping the warped shape of a pair of war hammers indicates Asahi, he's the only one who can handle the earthquakes and rockslides that the unusually massive hammers contain. They flash golden and begin to spin, creating a glowing ring around Asahi and the second god.

The soft pink, paired with the blurry fire around their hands means that it's Saeko. She's swaying, arms still blazing, but the metal and flames shrink quickly, until her bangles are only glowing a soft orange.

Kei can't make out their faces, but he's seen them enough times. Asahi's expression is one of panic, lightly diluted with guilt. Saeko doesn't appear pained, it's for Asahi's sake, but there are twinges of fear in her lavender eyes.

Asahi falls to his knees, cradles Saeko in his lap, and tries to figure out a solution. They're close enough to the Palace, it's possible that he could reach someone. He spares one of his hands, now slick with blood, and presses it into the ground. A pulsing line of green shoots off, traveling as fast as Asahi can make it.

After far too long, Sakunami arrives, a floating platform for Saeko following a heartbeat behind him.

Without a word between them, they get Saeko onto the platform. Asahi keeps his hammers spinning until they reach the forcefield surrounding the Palace.

He can't stay to see what happens, there's still fighting to be done.

Nishinoya, glowing a soft yellow, approaches with weary footsteps.

"We'll keep her safe, just like we do everyone else. I've got your back," he says, "Go, and come back as soon as this is all over."

The scene shifts, it's nothing but a blurry mess of blue and white, spinning about as if in free fall. Unlike the other memory, this one isn't all bubble glass, Kei can make out a few points with startling clarity. Dark blood flies by one of those spots, followed by a glint of silver, and a single feather. There are two beings, entangled by blurred lines, until they burst apart. One figure is nothing but a mess of grey and red, the other of blue, white, and black. It's a fight, a bad one; the latter figure begins to fall out of the sky.

Kei opens his eyes, drawing in a breath.

No, best not to dwell on that.

Shouyou is half in a chair, half lying on Kei's bed, his shoulders slumped while his arms are pillowed beneath his head. He's awake, his unnerving gaze trained on Kei.

"Was it as bad as the last ones?" he asks quietly, staying put.

"No."

"That's good."

Kei just nods, pushing himself to sit up. Judging by the natural light filtering through the window, he's slept until a reasonable hour.

"Yamaguchi came in earlier, to check on you. He said he's going to be with Yachi and Ennoshita, they're working on something." Shouyou straightens up, his wings fluttering lightly.

Once Kei's out of bed, he slips on a training shirt and gestures for Shouyou to follow him.

"It's as good a time as any to practice. What have you been doing with Kageyama?" he asks once they're outside. Kei flexes his toes into the grass, taking a moment to stretch out his arms.

"I already know how to use my staff, we've been working on fighting against other weapons."

"I take it he hasn't tried chains yet?" Kei asks with a small smirk.

Shouyou shakes his head, but there's a smile on his face, and his glow is considerably brighter.

"We'll start with weapons only, then just magic. If you do well with both, we'll combine them." Kei summons his chains and continues talking when he sees Shouyou's confusion. "It's good to know how to fight without magic or without a weapon, you may find yourself in a situation in which you're unable to use one or the other."

Shouyou nods his understanding and unfastens the two pieces of his staff from his belt. He doesn't fuse them together, but he takes up a loose fighting stance. Kei takes a deep breath, his chains fuse until he has one thick line on each hand. He'll split them up depending on Shouyou's skill, but two is a good place to start.

Predictably, Shouyou moves first, his wings propelling him forward.

Fighting Shouyou is an interesting experience. He's a little sloppy, but what he lacks in technique he makes up for in his reflexes. His defense is in need of major work, but his offensive power is somewhat startling.

Kei wins through his superior experience, but Shouyou doesn't seem all that surprised, or disappointed. If anything, he looks more determined, a bit more focussed.

"Have you practiced your magic with anyone?" Kei asks, watching as Shouyou struggles to unfuse his staff. He gets it after a minute, his hands glowing red hot, his eyes little more than white flames.

Kageyama is the best teacher for physical weaponry, but in terms of fighting magic, there are others Shouyou should go to. Not to mention there are aspects to take into consideration. Each of them have some elemental tie with their magic, Shouyou's is quite obviously fire, so going to someone like Asahi for example, would yield nothing. Tanaka would be a good choice, Ennoshita could offer pointers.

Unfortunately, their best jack of all trades magic users are out of commission.

"I've practiced with Tanaka a bit, I know the basics," Shouyou says, fastening the two pieces of staff back to his belt.

Kei's magic is on the other end of the spectrum, so he can provide a nice contrast. He just won't be able to answer any questions Shouyou may have.

Kei summons his magic first, feels the chill wash down his body as the blue begins racing from his back, over his shoulders, and down his arms. This is different than the magic for the moons, or for fixing seals. Magic used for combat is a darker shade of blue, it looks angry, sharper than the soft rolls of practical magic.

He imagines he may look a bit frightening.

Without his wings, the magic spreads outwards from his back until it mimics their shape, nearly all encompassing. It writhes, moves, _breathes_. The rest of the magic stays contained from his hands to his back, fading from dark blue at his shoulders to a sky blue at his fingertips. His eyes turn icy, the color nearly spilling from his irises. Awash with blue light, all harsh angles and frigid rage, Kei is very much a figure feared on the battlefield.

To his credit, Shouyou doesn't back down. He's seen Kei wrapped in the quiet blue when he makes moons, but this is something else and he knows it.

With a quiet breath, Shouyou summons his own magic.

As expected, his magic is red. It starts in his palms and spreads to coat his entire body, likely a result of learning from Tanaka. His wings are untouched, but Shouyou's skin takes on a red tint, while his eyes are nothing but a glowing white heat. The magic swells with his breathing, nearly doubling in size, making Shouyou appear much bigger than he actually is.

With a nod, they begin.

* * *

Hmm, I wonder who those keys belong to? As well as all the other thinly veiled, slightly convoluted, allusions to other things I keep dancing around. I'm horrible.

But that's not the point!

Thank you all so much for being patient with me. If you've got questions you'd like to ask about the story, please do! You can also ask or get ahold of me on my tumblr, it's: wire-pudding (I realize I've never actually put my user in any of these notes, but it's on my profile). I think that's everything, so thanks again!


	9. The Specifics of Magic

So I felt bad that I didn't include an actual fight scene in the last chapter, so I did my best with a magical one this time around. You'd think that actually having experience would make fight scenes easier, but you'd be wrong. I tried though, there will be fight scenes later, I'll redeem myself then.

* * *

Shouyou is little more than a red blur, flying directly at Kei, dominant hand drawn back, while the other lays flat, acting as a guide for the punch that will surely come. Kei side steps the attack easily. The magic making up his pseudo wings stretches forward to tangle a few tendrils around Shouyou's legs and arms. The blue engulfs his limbs, spreads up his wings to keep them from fluttering, and leaves Shouyou perfectly helpless.

"What? That's cheating!" Shouyou shouts indignantly, trying to beat his way out of Kei's magic.

It's no use.

"You have to consider the possibility that an enemy will have tangible magic. If so, look out for it. Everyone you face will have different ways of using their magic, you need to be prepared for anything," Kei says, dropping Shouyou. "Offensive magic usually travels out of the hands and feet, neutralizing those areas will almost always render your opponent helpless.

"Almost?"

"Tanaka can breathe fire if he so chooses," Kei says easily, "so it stands to reason that there may be beings out there with similar capabilities. They may also have tails, it's possible to conduct magic through a tail in the same way one would their arms."

"Like Matsukawa and Hanamaki?"

"Correct. Just keep in mind possible exit routes through magic and neutralize them."

"Well, what about…" Shouyou gestures to Kei's pseudo wings.

"That requires a bit of thought." Kei holds out his left arm, and gestures to the magic racing along it with his right. "You can see the direction the magic is traveling, all you have to do is neutralize the source and they'll vanish."

Shouyou nods like it makes all the sense in the world, and Kei waits for the inevitable question.

"How do I do that exactly?"

Kei begins his explanation. They're on opposite ends of the elemental spectrum, but the concept is the same. Solidify, extend, and hold. Kei has Shouyou practice solidifying stationary magic for a few minutes. Once he's gotten the hang of that, Kei tries to help him create deliberate extensions.

"You can ask Tanaka for help as well, he should be of better assistance than I am," Kei mumbles, he's loathe to admit it, but it's a fact. "We need to continue with your practice."

The Sun God takes up a fighting stance, his glow brightening from where it had dimmed.

"Right. Ready!"

This time, Shouyou waits for Kei to attack first. Twin spheres of swirling blue magic come flying through the air, one aimed at Shouyou's face, the other at his stomach. Kei's not aiming to cause damage, this magic is tame, little more than light with spelled pressure, but it certainly looks dangerous.

In an attempt to incorporate what he's learned, red strains of magic envelop the blue. It doesn't do much, practicing a technique in relative peace is different than using the technique when a projectile is hurtling through the air.

The red vanishes, having only momentarily slowed the blue.

Shouyou's wings close around his body a split second before the magic hits. The blue disperses against his feathers, and Shouyou peaks through after a moment.

"How was that?" he asks.

Kei wants to lecture him about stopping a fight before it's even really begun, that a proper opponent would have used his pause to hit him again.

But he nods all the same. Shouyou made an attempt, it's a good start.

"Your reaction time will be a good advantage for you when you're in a real fight."

 _When,_ not _if._

Shouyou positively keens, smiling wide as he flaps his wings, shooting up into the sky. He comes back down a moment later.

And, oh, how great it would be to have an aerial practice battle. It's completely different, fighting without touching the ground. There's a higher chance for injury, for imbalance. But there are things to be done in the sky that aren't even possible on the ground. Kei misses it. He would take an aerial battle over ground combat any time. But these wings, made only of magic, have no actual flight capabilities, just the same near impenetrable defense as his actual wings. So used to them being at his back, Kei's magic still spreads to cover an expanse that has long since vanished.

"Ready?" Kei asks.

"Ready!"

Kei starts with a quick succession of attacks, followed by tendrils of tangible magic. Shouyou flies up high and fast to avoid the spheres of blue, summoning a mass of white magic to his hands. He uses his magic to block Kei's, changing the white from a shapeless blob into two flat platforms.

He throws them, and with speed that Kei isn't expecting.

Kei brings his hands up, dark blue magic gathering at his fingertips and he reaches out, just barely touching the platforms. They erupt into something akin to fine sand, perfectly harmless as it creates a cloud of obscurity. From above, Shouyou can't see anything, Kei's vision isn't too great either. He conjures up a small mass of blue light a short ways away and waits for Shouyou to go after it.

As expected, he does.

Kei makes to wrap him up in magic again but Shouyou notices at the last second and spins, the gust from his wings blowing away the cloud. With their vision no longer impaired, they begin again.

Short distance fighting seems to work best for Shouyou, he does his best to keep in Kei's personal space, and he's holding his own fairly well.

Until Kei kicks it up a notch anyways.

With a muttered spell, Shouyou's projected magic disappears.

Bewildered, he looks up to Kei for an explanation.

"Magic cancellation, this is where being proficient with a physical weapon would be useful."

Shouyou's gaze widens and Kei's expecting him to get upset, instead he smiles and flaps up into the air, flipping excitedly.

"That's so cool! I didn't know you could do that! Will it wear off? How does it work? When do I get my magic back? Where did it go? Can you teach me?"

Kei blinks, trying to process the onslaught of questions. Once Shouyou touches back down, Kei allows his own magic to dissipate and releases the hold he has on the Sun God's magic. Shouyou blazes red before he let's his magic vanish, wholly transfixed on watching Kei's magic instead.

Kei knows his eyes are fixed on the pseudo wings in the process of disappearing, knows that he wants to ask. Before he gets the chance, Kei sets to answering his questions.

"It's like a seal," he begins, turning his palms face up.

Two small masses of light, one blue and one red, take shape in either hand. The blue shapes itself into a silhouette of Kei, and the red into one of Shouyou. Each miniature erupts into a light colored haze, representative of their magic.

"This is you and me," Kei says, "My magic created a seal over yours, blocking your access to it." A tendril of the blue light drifts over to the red, enveloping it in a thin layer. The haze around Shouyou's figure disappears, replaced by the blue.

"My magic wasn't actually gone then?"

"No, you just couldn't use it."

"How long could you do that for?"

"Depends on how powerful my opponent is. The more magic there is to contain, the more energy and focus I'd have to use. Against someone like you or Goshiki, I could cancel your magic as long as I wanted. Tanaka would take a bit more energy, and I could probably only cancel someone like Sugawara or Iwaizumi for a few seconds. Though, a few seconds can be incredibly useful in battle."

"Wow! That's so cool!"

Kei finds himself grinning at Shouyou's enthusiasm.

"So, how do you do it? Can you teach me?"

"I can try, it's not something everyone can do."

"I don't care! I still want to try!"

* * *

Shouyou ends up getting called back some time later, having only partially grasped the concept of magic cancellation, another summons through the metal disk he keeps in his pocket.

"Thank you for this," he says.

Kei's already got his response prepared, but he promptly forgets it when Shouyou comes flying at him. After a few heartbeats, Kei realizes that Shouyou's legs are wrapped around his waist, and that the tight pressure at his neck is from Shouyou's arms, which means that the orange blur taking up most of his vision is Shouyou's hair.

This is a hug.

Hesitantly, and a little stiffly, Kei returns the gesture, patting Shouyou's back.

Shouyou leans back a little, and Kei instinctively wraps his arms around Shouyou's waist to keep him from falling, it's a useless action.

"Your face is all red," Shouyou giggles.

Kei lets go immediately, taking in Shouyou's startled expression before the god's wings get the message and flap once to keep him up.

"Shut up," Kei mumbles.

Shouyou only lets out a bright laugh before he flies off.

Kei turns around, ready to go back inside, only to find Yamaguchi leaning against a tree, a brilliant smile on his face.

"Yamaguchi-"

"It's nice to see you happy again," Yamaguchi says.

"What are you talking about?" Kei wanders over to the cliff's edge, and Yamaguchi follows.

"You smile more when you're around him.

Kei bites back his retort, he knows Yamaguchi is right.

Yamaguchi knows that too.

"So, magic lessons?"

"I taught him the basics. Tanaka would be a better choice, element wise."

"Don't pretend you don't enjoy it," Yamaguchi says, still smiling.

"I'm not pretending."

Another bout of laughter, and Kei makes sure to keep his head tilted so as to hide the blush that refuses to go away.

"It's not a bad thing, really." Yamaguchi says after a moment. "In any case, Sugawara wanted me to let you know that we're starting preparations for Hinata's officiation. Kuroo's dealing with some kind of backlog, so it's taking a bit longer than usual."

"Backlog?" The blush practically drains from his cheeks.

"He mentioned it in the meeting? Some of the numbers aren't adding up, it's just a few discrepancies, but you know how he gets."

Oh, it's only just dawning on Kei. Occasionally, he forgets that not everyone knows the minute goings on of the other gods. Kuroo catalogues every death that happens on their world, if he's getting numbers that don't match with the information he receives, of course it would cause concern.

"I'm sure it's nothing major," Kei says.

Yamaguchi draws in a sigh.

"You know why, don't you?" he asks after a few minutes. He doesn't sound accusatory, just a little tired, expectant.

"If I did, I couldn't tell you." Kei's sick of this, sick of all of it. But it's not like he has a choice.

"You remember that one battle in the far North, the force intent on sneaking into the Palace?" Yamaguchi's voice is small, but not at all weak, he sounds far away. He's thinking back, the battles in the far North weren't exactly easy jaunts.

"What are you getting at, Tadashi?"

It was after they'd been separated from Saeko. Kageyama was caught up with a brute, an enemy twelve times his size, so Yamaguchi and Kei had been left to handle the several dozen smaller opponents on their own. The only way to win that day had been to play Yamaguchi's greatest trump card. Other gods underestimate Yamaguchi, they always have.

As the Constellation God, Yamaguchi wields control over all the beasts and heroes he's immortalized amongst the stars. Some of which used to have quite the reputation as bloodthirsty fighters. It's a mind meld of sorts, though maybe possession fits the situation better. His power swells to immeasurable levels as he's cocooned in Starlight. He becomes the center for a constellation figure, appearing with a faint outline but entirely solid and deadly. Unfortunately, Yamaguchi turns over his control to the absolute, he can't shut it off on his own. Prolonged exposure to the constellation isn't excessively detrimental to Yamaguchi, but once the immediate enemy is dealt with, the beast will turn to the next warm body.

Which is where Kei's magic cancellation ability comes in handy.

"I trust you enough to make sure I don't kill anyone we care about. I also know that you can't tell me everything that happens, bound by the keys and such. But, can you at least trust _me_ , and not lie to my face?"

"Yamaguchi, that's not-"

"I don't need details. But with whatever's happening with Kuroo's numbers- Daichi's been in and out at irregular times, Yahaba's been portal jumping erratically, Akaashi has I don't know how many different time fields running, and Suga's rushing to get Hinata initiated...Just let me know, do we need to be worried, Kei?"

This is definitely a situation he doesn't want to be in. But Yamaguchi's eyes are bright, nearly painful to look at, and his stars are starting to turn red. A few of the constellations are swirling, some of the angrier ones, ones that Kei is quite glad aren't around anymore.

Kei can't tell him about Daichi's runs to the outer edges, and how that affects Kuroo's numbers. He can't tell him why Akaashi has so many time fields set up, or where Yahaba's going.

Or what events Shouyou becoming official may trigger.

"I don't know," Kei says at last, voice cracking as he drops his head to his hands. "I don't- I don't know...maybe- or- I don't know, Tadashi."

Crying isn't a habit he has, it's not something he enjoys doing, but Kei can feel the frustrated tears burning, threatening to spill down his cheeks.

He _hates_ this. Hates the painful choking that comes with uttering something that even implicates the secret. Hates having to lie over and over again. Hates the keys he puts so much effort into. He hates the aspects that he's inherited, and the aspects he's always had. He hates his title.

Above all, he hates how there's nothing he can do about it.

"I'm sorry," Yamaguchi whispers, moving closer, pulling Kei into a tight hug. "I'm sorry."

Kei shakes his head. He draws in a deep breath and quickly wipes away his unshed tears. He sits up straight, but doesn't shrug off Yamaguchi's arms.

"No, don't apologize." he brings his hands to rub his face. Yamaguchi lets go, but keeps one hand on Kei's shoulder.

Kei collects himself and draws in another breath.

"Things are happening," he says flatly, "and, the most likely outcome is that, everything will come to light. Whether or not we truly have to worry has yet to be determined."

His throat is tight, but he'd not choked, so it's okay.

Before he can lapse into an unseemly display, Kei pushes himself up to stand, taking Yamaguchi with him.

"I'll be in my workshop," he says. Part of him wants to stay outside, but there are things to do, keys to make.

It is an open invitation, however, one he expects Yamaguchi to take. Much like Shouyou, Yamaguchi's always liked watching him work. When they were younger, just coming into their magic, they would practice together with Akiteru, as well as Oikawa and Aone. Yamaguchi used to say that the only time he ever saw Kei look truly happy was when he had magic gathering at his fingertips.

Yamaguchi smiles.

"I think I can spare some time."

* * *

Much like previous chapters, I dance around plot points and backstories like I'm intentionally trying to make these difficult. This whole thing is just a convoluted mess of hints and events that are shady as all hell.

I digress.

Character chart is on the tumblr, wire-pudding, it has the characters that have been in the story, and a few that have been mentioned. I have neglected to include a couple of them, simply because I don't want to spoil anything too major. If you have questions, please ask them! You can ask in a review, or on tumblr if you'd like to actually have a discussion/conversation through messaging.


	10. An Awakening

I've posted an informational update on tumblr explaining the game plan for the next month

* * *

Moniwa's not in his guard tower when Kei arrives at the Palace gates. It's not like it's all that important for him to be there. They may make a show about locking up the gates, but they aren't in war time, not at the moment anyways, and the magical barrier is more than enough to keep out anyone unwanted for the time it takes to alert Palace occupants.

Kei's arms are heavy with Ennoshita's schematics. Usually, he just sends them with Yamaguchi, given the other's frequent attendance at the Palace, but he was out when Kei woke, and there had been a burning need to simply _do_ something.

As he pushes the door open, he's met with a mess of signatures. There's Sugawara, pulsing bright hot and nearly blinding; Daichi, strong and grey and steady: Yahaba, a mess of purple paired with flashing points of green; Kyoutani, faded pink spirals beating erratically against black; Hanamaki and Matsukawa, all twisted currents of sky blue holding back magic older than Kei. Kozume's present as well, his signature littler more than a low hum of blue nearing black; Kindaichi and Watari stand together, signatures twisting into little more than a mess of grey and dark red.

And there.

Deep, thrumming low and long, green as the darkest trees. A signature so widely encompassing that it takes up nearly a whole wing of the Palace.

Iwaizumi's awake.

Kei nearly drops the schematics, but manages to hold on to them as he makes his way to the infirmary. No one bats an eye when he walks in, and rightly so. His back is starting to burn again, spiraling out and down his arms.

Iwaizumi's still lying down, but his eyes are open, spiraling neon green through tree leaves. His skin runs dark and uninterrupted until his torso. The scar stretches from his hips to the center of his chest in a shape akin to an arrowhead. The lines are jagged, torn through by magic that Daichi wasn't able to smooth over when the healing coma began. His arms are decorated in tattoos; swirling black lines, varying in thickness, and moving with each breath he takes.

Daichi's at Iwaizumi's side, a white glow around his hands, as he explains that the war is over; Kozume's there too, his glow is blue and he's running his hands over Iwaizumi's arms, across his torso, down his legs; a diagnostic check.

Healing comas vary depending on the injury. Iwaizumi's had nearly killed him. His signature had been nothing but a barely glowing dot of green when Daichi got ahold of him. The only thing to be done was to put him in stasis, freezing his body and the magically induced injury running its course through his system.

There's a flash of light, near tangible, and a cross between blue and white, then the infirmary is nothing but a buzz of signatures.

Sugawara's biting his knuckles, the only thing keeping them from bleeding are his gloves, and Kei takes the few steps to move closer. He sets his free hand on the older god's shoulder, catching his attention.

"Tsukishima," he says softly, "He's finally awake."

And while that's well and good, Kei gets the feeling that things are going to get irreparably more complicated from this point forward.

All the same, having Iwaizumi around has its own benefits. It's just a matter of what Sugawara decides to do.

Daichi helps him sit properly before getting a robe for him. The second he has his arms through the sleeves, Hanamaki and Matsukawa rush him, followed closely by Kyoutani, Yahaba, Kindaichi, and Watari.

Kageyama is in the infirmary as well, nervously chewing on his lip as he leans against the wall, eyes fixed on the green light rising from Iwaizumi's body. Kei knows Kageyama feels partly responsible. Iwaizumi's magic has more than enough offensive power, but he had a weapon from Kageyama, a set of gauntlets that channeled his magic in a manner better suited to his fighting style. However, that conductive ability had to be chosen over frequent use, so Iwaizumi hadn't been able to wear the gauntlets every time he fought.

Kageyama stays where he is though, doesn't join the mass hug happening just a few steps away. He'll wait until they're done, or just stay against the wall, Kei isn't sure.

Iwaizumi gives a groan of protest, no doubt his body is still riddled with pain, but he wraps his arms around whoever he can. One of them happens to be Kyoutani, the other is Hanamaki. After a moment, Matsukawa taps the latter's shoulder and they switch places. No one says a word as Iwaizumi hugs his team. While it may feel as though he's only woken from a nap, Iwaizumi knows just how long it's been since the others have seen him, so he doesn't mind how tightly they hold him.

Once his group has had their fill, Kageyama approaches, hesitantly.

"I'm glad you're awake," he says quietly.

Iwaizumi gives him a tired smile before pulling him into a hug.

"It's good to see you too, kid."

Kei finds himself smiling slightly, it's really nothing more than a muscle twitch.

After far too long, Kageyama pulls back and returns to the wall. Kei sees Iwaizumi glance around, can practically see the confusion clouding in his eyes.

"Where's Tooru?"

No one moves, no one breathes. Kei casts a sidelong glance towards Sugawara, whose gaze is alternating between Daichi and Yahaba.

Kei has half a mind to summon a key, but if Daichi stays, he won't have to. Just because Sugawara can't say everything doesn't mean Daichi can't either, he never locked this memory into a key.

"We should let Suga explain," Yahaba says after a moment, voice cracking as he tugs on Kyoutani's arm.

"Explain what?" Iwaizumi asks immediately, "Shigeru, explain what?"

Yahaba practically drags his team from the infirmary, shoving them past the doors and into a portal that probably sends them to their wing of the Palace.

Panic and fear rest heavy in Iwaizumi's features as he turns to look at Sugawara. His signature is getting shaky and Kei takes a step back on instinct, not wanting to be anywhere in the immediate vicinity should Iwaizumi lose his grip on his magic.

Kozume vanishes, nothing but a shimmery mist of blue to even suggest he was there to begin with. Kei makes eye contact with Kageyama and gestures towards the door.

"Suga, what is going on? Where's Tooru?"

The doors shut behind them and a soundless barrier rises to obscure the rest of whatever conversation may take place.

"He was put in stasis before it happened, wasn't he?" Kageyama asks quietly. His hands are twitching, a bad habit he hasn't let go of since the war. So used to having a weapon in his hands, Kageyama's associated emotions like anxiety with the memories of fighting. Now, he either balls up his fists to the point that he bleeds from his palms, or chews at his fingers.

Either way, the outcome is unfavorable.

"Yes," Kei says simply.

"He doesn't know."

"No."

"He's not going to take this well."

Kei doesn't respond, just shifts his grip on the schematics he's still holding.

"Are those Ennoshita's?" Kageyama asks after a moment. There's something heavy in his voice, but Kei's almost entirely certain that it will fade after a few sentences.

"They are."

"Stop and say hi to Shouyou before you leave, he's at the outer training field with Tanaka and Nishinoya right now."

Kei waits because Kageyama obviously has more to say. He watches, mildly delighted, as Kageyama struggles to string the words together.

"And thank you, for helping him with combat magic practice." Kageyama rushes off, heading in the direction of the forge entrance, and Kei only smirks.

It fades off his lips the second a wave of magic hits him. He stumbles, the schematics falling from his arms as his knees hit the ground. It's nothing but raw emotion, white green interspersed with black and Kei feels bile rise in his throat as the aftershocks roll through.

It's not grief though. Grief would feel suffocating, crushing, it would have forced Kei flat on the ground.

This is anger, rage, pure and undiluted fury.

And Kei knows exactly what Sugawara told Iwaizumi.

He stands up and uses a small gravity field to pick up the dropped schematics. By the time the moon rises, Sugawara will bring Iwaizumi by, to lock up the secret, Kei will need to have a key ready.

* * *

Ennoshita's workroom is much like Kei's, nearly all of the gods with creation aspects have similar work spaces but that's beside the point. Where Kei's glows mostly blue, and is home to floating moons, Ennoshita's workroom is multicolor and hazy, filled with novas and planets. The completed systems are contained in stasis, while the unfinished ones swirl around the room as they please.

Kei ducks to avoid a planet and makes his way to the main table where Ennoshita's hunched over his current project. He's frustrated, that much is obvious. When he takes note of Kei, he throws down his tools and whatever he was trying to work on flies off to some corner of the room.

"Tsukishima, it's not often I see your face around here." His tone is calm, despite his frustration prior, but Kei knows that tone.

It's what he uses when he tries to guilt Kei into visiting more often.

"I've just come to return these."

Ennoshita takes the charts and Kei's halfway to the door when he speaks up.

"Iwaizumi's awake, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"So that wave…"

"Sugawara told him what happened." Kei cuts himself off before the key makes him choke. Technically, he's both lying and telling the truth. Sugawara told Iwaizumi what happened. Kei is only fudging the details a little in his delivery and intent.

Ennoshita gives him a questioning look, but nods all the same.

Kei may be the secret holder but most gods won't question him if he tells them something, though they may be a little uneasy about it. The only reason that Yamaguchi does is because they'd known each other forever. Yamaguchi stayed with Kei and Akiteru at the Palace, and they all trained together.

"Shouyou's down at the outer field with Tanaka. I believe Bokuto went down there not too long ago with Lev and Yachi. You should go say hi."

There's already a scowl on his lips at the mention of Lev. Kei's not overly fond of the other god. All long limbs and glowing eyes, Lev towers over everyone else. He came into his aspects late, and awkward, and with poor control. For what felt like the longest time, Lev brought terror down on the Palace, chasing everyone with illusions, bending reality, and making himself a general nuisance. Eventually, Kuroo took care of him, teaching him to control his powers to the best of his ability. Lev still makes no effort to control his nightmare eye, and every time Kei sees him he wants to punch the younger god across the forest.

His wings are fragmented and black, beautiful really and Kei can't stand it because Lev has never bothered to use them properly. Their shape gives him the means for graceful flight maneuvers but he wants broad wings, built for power. He doesn't appreciate what he has.

That's what pisses Kei off the most.

"Kageyama already made me aware."

Ennoshita has the nerve to smile as he waves Kei out the door.

Regardless of his usual front, Kei makes his way to the outer field. The inner field is within the Palace's magical barrier, the outer field is used by gods with a tendency towards destruction. It's where Tanaka practices, along with all their heavy hitters. It's open, and most of the ground is spelled so that, should it catch, fire won't spread to the surrounding area.

He passes through the main hall as Iwaizumi, Sugawara, and Daichi walk out of the infirmary doors. Iwaizumi takes a few steps and has Kei backed up against the wall.

Kei would be stupid to not be afraid. Iwaizumi is a threat that is not to be underestimated, he could match Sugawara, and Kei isn't so arrogant as to believe that he'd stand a chance himself. But he doesn't think Iwaizumi will hurt him at this moment.

It is rather intimidating however.

Iwaizumi practically blazes, angry and green and with sharp intent focused entirely on Kei. Magic swells, his signatures shifts, running an undercurrent of black instead of silver. Instinctively, Kei's own magic surges, gathering at his fingertips.

Oh, what he would give to have his wings right now.

"They don't know," Iwaizumi says softly.

Kei takes a breath.

"Only the four of us. As well as Yahaba and Kunimi."

"I'm going to catch up with my team, and everyone else. But afterwards, take me to see him. Sugawara won't go, I'll stop by with Shigeru."

Kei casts his gaze past Iwaizumi's set in stone features to lock eyes with Sugawara. The older god nods, and Daichi looks at the ground.

"Of course."

Iwaizumi moves away and Kei sucks in a breath to calm himself. There's pain clearly inscribed in Iwaizumi's face, but the rage keeps it at bay. Rage at Sugawara for making such a decision, rage at Daichi and Kei and Yahaba and Kunimi for allowing it to happen. Rage at himself for not being around.

He's understandably upset, but Kei's known him long enough to know that he'll eventually come to understand.

"Kei," Sugawara starts, his tone void of any gentleness. "Things will begin to change. Once Hinata becomes official-"

"I understand, I'll have the keys set aside for when that time comes."

Kei walks as fast as he can without looking bothered. He ignores the chatter from the wall, ignores Sugawara's eyes at his back, and just moves. He breezes through Kiyoko's garden and a few short stretches of trees.

There's too much happening.

The thought of another war is nearly too much to handle. Kei doesn't want to think about it. He knows Sugawara doesn't want to think about it, but it's unavoidable. They're not going to do this the same way they did last time, they're not leaving anything up to chance. Sure, their enemy may be less numerous than they were at the start, but age old grudges have a tendency to compensate for numbers.

Kei shakes his head as he gets closer to the outer training field. He can hear Bokuto, Nishinoya, and Lev cheering, can feel the heat waves rolling through.

Tanaka's engulfed in flames, his brass knuckles glinting as he moves. Shouyou is in a similar state, his staff is in two and his eyes are blazing. They clash at the center and a rush of hot air blows past, nearly lifting Kei's glasses off his face.

"Hey, Tsukishima!" Bokuto shouts, jogging over.

"Bokuto."

"Did you come to see Hinata? He's doing really good. Tanaka and Nishinoya are putting him through the ringer, but he's gotten better."

Bokuto propels him towards the others.

"Come on, Shouyou! Keep your guard up!" Nishinoya shouts. Lev lets out a shout of encouragement, followed closely by Bokuto.

"It's not too often we get to see your face around here," Lev says, turning to face Kei.

His eyes are mismatched; one an empty pool of black, the other glowing yellow.

"There's a reason," Kei says, moving to stand beside Yachi. The nymph gives him a smile before turning her gaze back to Tanaka and Shouyou.

"Bokuto's right, Hinata's doing really well," she says. Her blossoms are bright pink today, her signature as bubbly as it always is. "He said you helped him?"

"With magical aspects," Kei says, "I just gave him pointers."

"Well, they helped a lot, he's doing better against Tanaka than he has before."

The practice ends with Tanaka pinning Shouyou to the ground.

"Better luck next time, kid," Tanaka chuckles, helping him up.

Shouyou grumbles something before turning, his eyes catch Kei's and he's up in the air in a second.

"Tsukishima!"

"Hello, Hinata."

"I didn't know you were coming today."

"I had to drop off a few things, Kageyama suggested I stop by."

Shouyou smiles and flies up to perch himself on Kei's shoulder.

"Tanaka helped explain magic more, and Nishinoya's helping me with defensive techniques, he says I suck right now."

"You could use some more practice," Kei admits.

"You should train with us," Nishinoya says, "Shouyou says you've been helping him, it'll be good to have different skills with this."

"I just came to say hello, there are things I need to do today," Kei says. He knows if he doesn't cut it off now, he'll have the whole lot of them badgering him to come by more.

"But you'll come some other time, right?" Shouyou leans over so his body is half slumped over Kei's head. "You're a good teacher."

Damn him.

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Iwaizumi doesn't have any keys, Kei's not entirely sure what to do. Aesthetic isn't really a big deal right now, with the urgency of the situation, but he refuses to put out anything half hearted. He sits down at his worktable and takes off his glasses.

He closes his eyes and allows his magic to pour down his arms. He'll choose blindly, instinct may prove to be useful as his analytic thought process has apparently taken a nap.

After a few minutes he opens his eyes.

The key mold presents him with a blockish form, about the size of Kei's hand, wrist to fingertip. He selects a silver metal liquid and fills the mold, adding varying shades of grey and green as he goes.

His finished product sparks the memory of his initial meeting with Iwaizumi.

For as long as Kei can remember, they've always been allied parties, dating back prior to the first war. But until that moment, he'd never met Iwaizumi. Kunimi and Kindaichi were around occasionally, usually with Kageyama, and Yahaba could usually be found talking with Moniwa along the guard tower.

Akiteru knew him though. As Iwaizumi passed through the gates, Akiteru stood up, Kei had been reading with him, and stood up to greet Iwaizumi. Kei remembers sensing his signature for the first time. It was powerful, such that it knocked him to the ground. Iwaizumi was overwhelming, the amount of magic within him left Kei slack jawed and frightened.

That ebbed over the years, Iwaizumi never failed to be a source of amazement, but Kei knows him now.

* * *

Yahaba and Iwaizumi arrive soon enough. Kei makes his way outside and waits while Yahaba opens a portal.

"I apologize, I was somewhat out of line earlier, I shouldn't have gotten in your face like that," Iwaizumi says after a moment.

"It was warranted."

They step through the portal and Kei guides them down to the black door. Yahaba unlocks it as always and Kei takes a deep breath.

Kunimi isn't expecting them, that much is clear. His eyes, perpetually violet so long as he's using his magic, widen at the sight of Iwaizumi. He closes his eyes as the purple threads of magic flicker.

"What's going on?" he asks after a moment.

He doesn't get an answer though.

Iwaizumi makes his way to the center of the room and drops to his knees.

"Sugawara said…"

Kunimi turns his gaze to Yahaba and the latter sits down beside him to explain. Kei sits opposite Iwaizumi, crouching down. His chains are rattling around his wrists again, just in case. He waits, watching as Iwaizumi's hands begin to tremble.

"There's a new Sun God?" he asks aloud, shaky.

"Yes," Kei answers.

"And once he's officiated?"

"We'll have the force necessary to win a war properly." He keeps his voice low, wraps their conversation in a veil of obscurity so that Kunimi and Yahaba can't hear.

Properly, because there's obviously a _proper_ way to a win a war. Even if such a thing existed, it isn't this.

Kei can't blame Sugawara, he really can't. Sometimes wars must be won through whatever means necessary. War tactics labeled 'cowardly' lose their bite when measured against the loss of a friend.

"And then?"

"Your captain wakes up, matters are explained, we go to war."

Kei's own hands are starting to shake, he doesn't like the feeling. Iwaizumi's wrath is nothing compared the sleeping god before him. Kei thinks he may understand, self sacrifice for the greater good and all, but he'd rather not be in the vicinity when the news is broken.

"Can I stay here for a while?" Iwaizumi asks, voice quiet, dark eyes fixed.

"Of course. Sugawara would like this locked in a key when you are done, just in case. Considering the way things are panning out, it won't be locked away for long, you don't have anything to worry about. Just come by before nightfall."

Kei pushes up onto his feet, dips his hand into his pocket to curl his fingers around the key. Yahaba steps out to open a portal for him and Kei doesn't say anything as he passes through.

Yamaguchi's waiting for him.

Not a word passes between them as they make their way to the cliff. It's still daylight so there aren't any stars to look at, they both stay standing.

"I heard Iwaizumi woke up."

"He did."

"That's good."

"It is."

* * *

I'm still kinda iffy on this chapter, it's a bit of a filler and I wanted to get it updated before I hit test week. In any case, Iwaizumi is here!

I've gotten some lovely questions over on tumblr, and some of them have story information in their answer, so if you'd like to check that out, do so! There's also a page for the characters that will be updated as details in the story are revealed.

Thank you all for sticking with me! If you've got questions or thoughts or anything, please feel free to let me know!


	11. Memory Transference

At long last, I am able to upload!

Standby for major plot leaps, and a short window of Yamaguchi's point of view

* * *

Kei goes with Yamaguchi to his workroom, taking a moment to bask in the gentle glow of the stars.

There's a wash of shimmery blue, intermingled with white and yellow. Constellations of a smaller scale hover among star maps and materials, peeking out at their rare visitor. It's not often that Kei comes to Yamaguchi's workroom, if only because the star beasts make him a little uncomfortable, what with their hyper focused eyes of dying stars.

"They're doing well," Yamaguchi says, reaching out towards a monster constellation. The star beast clings to Yamaguchi's back, nuzzling at his neck a moment.

"I can see that."

They sit down at a work table, Yamaguchi looking over a few star maps, Kei toying with the bowls of stardust.

"How was he when he woke up?"

"Tired, maybe a little overwhelmed. But he was the picture of collection until he realized that Oikawa wasn't there."

"That's right, he wouldn't have known."

Upon finding out about Iwaizumi's state of being, Oikawa had gone on quite the campaign. At the time, he'd still had Hanamaki and Tendou with him. They got news to each other with Sugawara's birds. That day, Oikawa's body count was in the hundreds.

"He handled it well, considering." Kei rubs some of the dust between his fingers, admiring the way it glints off the lights from the star.

They drift into comfortable silence after that. Yamaguchi updates his maps, checks in with ornery stars, and Kei plays with stardust, indulging a few star beasts with scratches on their barely tangible heads.

Kei finds his thoughts wandering.

Including Iwaizumi, there's six of them that know; Kei, Sugawara, Daichi, Kunimi, and Yahaba. Akaashi might suspect something, but he won't bring it forward until he's completely sure. Questions have yet to be raised on why aspects haven't presented themselves yet. Sure, sometimes it takes a little while, but it's been lifetimes.

Lifetimes, and Shouyou's the only one who's been reincarnated. Yachi inherited a few of Saeko's aspects, but aside form that, no one else has shown up. Minor deities who'd died may have had their aspects distributed to nymphs, but they'd still have heard about it.

Kei's just waiting for someone to wonder aloud why no new gods have appeared to replace those lost in the war.

If Sugawara is intent on fighting this new war, then all of those secrets will have to come out. Secrets from Asahi may drive Tanaka to rage. Secrets from Tanaka may drive everyone away from him. Secrets from Kuroo could create rifts between various gods. Secrets from Sugawara could sow the seeds of distrust and feelings of betrayal.

At the very least, there will be arguments, maybe even confrontation.

There's the problem of getting to that point int he first place. So many keys, it will be exhausting, displaying the contents for everyone. Linking them together, keeping them bound until the memories have run their course. Showing someone like Yachi scenes of gore is not something that Kei wants to be responsible for. She has a weapon, she trains, but she's never seen war except for the blurry snippets of Saeko's memories. Those don't hold a candle to what Kei has in the keys.

Ushijima will have to be present, casting peace over their more hot headed gods to make them see reason. At the very least, to make sure they don't try to kill somebody.

Wars have never been simple, Kei doesn't think they ever will be. But this one will be overtly complex and different. Participants of the first war earned an orange sash, those who fought in the last earned a sash so blood heavy red that it looks almost black. Kei keeps his in the empty space, he doesn't like looking at it.

He wonders what the color of the new war's sash will be.

Shouyou's officiation is the first in a chain of events.

Daichi has been busy with taking on tentative advancement squads before Terushima and his team catch their scent. Taking the time to explain everything to everyone would give those squadrons time to move closer.

Sugawara will need to explain his reason, as will all those who knew. Even Kei will be questioned.

There is no _right_ way to win a war, Kei knows that. They all know that. This war will be fought with desperation, with unresolved emotion that has waited and festered for far too long. Kei's a liar if he says he's not looking forward to finding the monster that took his wings from him.

The monsters age, but they are only steps behind the gods' near immortality. Kei knows it's still alive, he's not going to stop until he finds the monster. Its face is etched into his memories, the feel of its claws digging into Kei's back.

He's looking forward to ending its sorry existence.

"Kei?"

He blinks, gaze dragging up to Yamaguchi.

The star beasts are cowering behind him. It's then that Kei feels the battle magic flowing down his arms.

"My apologies." He shakes off the magic but the star beasts stay near Yamaguchi.

"Are you all right?"

"Of course."

"You were radiating murderous intent."

Kei's saved from answering with the arrival of a certain Sun God.

Shouyou bursts in, all bright light and warmth.

"Tsukishima! Yamaguchi!"

One of the star beasts, a slim dragon that answers to the name 'One', drifts over and settles atop Shouyou's head.

"She likes you," Yamaguchi says with a grin. Kei knows he's not off the hook yet, Yamaguchi will question him later, but he's safe from that for the moment.

"Really?"

"Mm, One used to be a sea dragon. She caused some trouble for a few lifetimes but she helped the Gods during the first war, I was too young at the time to fight, but I put her in the sky as a thank you."

Shouyou nods slowly, so as not to upset One. Kei smiles and eases back in his seat.

"What brings you here, Shouyou?"

"Tanaka and Noya don't like magic cancellation, Noya said something about using force instead. But they kind of explained it? And Bokuto isn't good at explaining it at all. You said you'd teach me more," he says, turning to Kei.

"You can't say no, Tsuki," Yamaguchi sings.

Kei rolls his eyes but stands up anyways.

Iwaizumi's key feels heavy in his pocket, which is ridiculous because there's no secret to weigh it down. He chalks it up to a psychological matter.

"Are you coming, Yamaguchi?" Shouyou asks, perching on Kei's shoulder.

"I've still got some work to do, I'll join you when I'm finished."

Kei flicks a bit of stardust at him, and Yamaguchi only grins. He has no work to do, Kei knows that, but he's not going to point it out. Yamaguchi's delusional, that's the only explanation. Whatever the Constellation God insinuates when they talk together, Kei wants none of it.

One drifts off of Shouyou's head, and they leave the workroom to go outside.

"Can I ask you something?" Shouyou's voice is small but burning in his curiosity.

"Yes."

"Why does Tanaka have two weapons? He always uses the metal knuckles but the bangles are weapons too, right?"

Shouyou gets off of Kei's shoulder when they reach the practice area from the last time, but he sits in Kei's lap, wings vanished, when the Moon God settles on the ground.

Shouyou is burning, even without his wings. Kei wills down his temperature further when Shouyou takes his hands, absently toying with them.

"The bangles belonged to his sister. Saeko died in the war. He doesn't use the bangles for practice."

Shouyou nods slowly.

"Yachi got some of her aspects, right?"

"Correct."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did Yachi get a few aspects, but I became an actual god?"

Kei can't answer that. Not with specifics anyways. The proper answer to that question is locked up in one of Kuroo's keys.

"I can't say, that's just how things work."

Though he can't see it, Kei just knows that Shouyou is pouting.

"That's stupid." Shouyou says petulantly.

Kei smirks and nudges Shouyou off his lap. Blue magic flows down his arms to this palms. Two balls of blue light hover over Kei's palms.

"We'll start simple."

Shouyou schools his features to focus and it's nearly comical.

"Call up your magic, you don't need a lot."

After a bit of thought, following their training session, Kei had decided to modify the magic cancellation technique he was teaching to Shouyou. Visual representation seemed to be something of a help to the small god. So instead of trying to teach him the way that Kei knew, Shouyou is going to get a simplified version. It's just as effective so it's not like Kei is putting him at risk by teaching him the technique.

For Kei, all magic cancellation takes is a thought. A simple need to negate power, the thought of a shroud enclosing his enemy, creating a field of energy in which they are unable to use their magic.

Shouyou summons a few strains of magic. They swirl up from his palms and cover his hands.

"Just like last time, but instead of cutting off the source, just worry about the lights. Cover them in your magic, cut them off from me."

Shouyou nods. In his concentration, his tongue slips between his lips. He brings up his hands, tendrils shakily stretching towards Kei's floating lights.

It's slow going, Shouyou gets frustrated and Kei makes him fly a lap down the beach to calm him down before they start again. This time, Kei creates just one light.

After a while, Shouyou has a thin layer of red magic covering nearly all of Kei's light. He can't break through the strand connecting the light to Kei's palm. Kei thinks of offering a word of advice, but the fervor in Shouyou's eyes keeps him quiet.

It's only a heartbeat, but Shouyou's magic flares, flames igniting along his wings while his body glows. But the light in Kei's palm flickers out.

"I did it!" Shouyou looks positively stunning; wings flapping so fast that they're practically vibrating.

"Yes you did, now do it again."

Shouyou's much more enthusiastic this time around.

"It doesn't matter how powerful your enemy is," Kei says, "You will always be able to negate their magic. The only unknown is just how long you'll be able to do it. It may only be a single second."

"You said that was enough though, right?" Shouyou asks, eyes fixed on the new light.

"Yes."

Kei can feel Shouyou's unvoiced question in the air.

"It's a tactic that Kageyama and I used when we were fighting. I would nullify our enemy's defenses. Because there were so many of them, I could only hold them for a short time. That window allowed Kageyama to use a multi target weapon to take them out."

"Wow."

* * *

Tadashi pauses, body stilling completely as he takes in the sight before him.

Kei's sitting on the ground, blue magic spilling from the scars on his back and down his arms. Hinata kneels an arm's reach away, fists balled up at his knees while he stares hard at Kei's shoulders. A barely noticeable thread of red magic drifts around Kei's body, but nothing's happening.

Hinata gives a frustrated huff, breaking his focus to rake his hands through his hair, and Kei _smiles_.

The blue magic glows a shade brighter, and Tadashi would think he's seeing things if he hadn't seen that smile.

Tadashi knew from the start, from the second he heard that Hinata had gone and met Kei, that it would be good for his friend. He'd met the Sun God prior, at the Palace, all smiles and warmth with fire in his eyes. Hinata had been with Kageyama at the time, but Tadashi had noticed how their grumpy Weaponsmith had smiled.

He couldn't help imagining the same for Kei.

Kageyama had introduced them, Tadashi hadn't been expecting to get along so well with the new god, but they grew close. Hinata had asked him about Kei, having heard a few whispers about the reclusive Moon God, so Tadashi had let slip the location of his shared home.

He doesn't regret it, he hasn't seen Kei this happy in a long while. It's a nice sight, and Tadashi doesn't mind that he's not the only one Kei smiles at anymore, he'd do anything to see Kei smile more.

The war wasn't fair to any of them, but Kei had been of the lot who'd ended up with a short straw. Tadashi has sat with him on the cliff's edge too many nights, the two of them just talking. Kei always keeps his voice measured, not a waver to be heard while he talks about what he can. He used to choke on his words half the time, he doesn't now because he chooses his words carefully, and it reminds Tadashi that Kei doesn't just have his own Nightmares to deal with.

So it's nice, seeing Kei smile around Hinata.

"I did it!"

Tadashi feels a grin tug at his lips.

Kei's arm is still covered in magic, but now there's an almost reddish sheen over it. The blue magic falters slightly, then breaks the red. Kei wills it away after a few moments.

"Barely," Kei snickers.

Hinata props his hands on his hips and sticks out his tongue.

"It's a good start," Kei concedes. At that, Hinata shoots up into the air, giving a happy yelp.

He lands right in front of Tadashi.

"Did you see?"

Hinata grabs his hand and propels him forward. Kei is doing everything he can to avoid Tadashi's gaze.

"I did, it was very impressive."

"Really?"

Tadashi sits down, nodding his affirmation.

"What's your weapon, Yamaguchi?"

Tadashi pretends that Hinata hasn't taken a seat in Kei's lap, for Kei's sake really. The Moon God looks redder than Tadashi has ever seen him.

He twists his summoning ring. There's a high pitched whistling as his spear comes to his hands. It's sleek, silver in color while the head is woven strands of unbreakable Starlight, shimmering in the evening sun.

"Oh, wow," Shouyou says, eyes wide as he leans half way out of Kei's lap to get a closer look.

"It's nothing too impressive-"

"It's amazing! Starlight can cause blindness, right? Tobio said something about that, I think. Can your spear do that?"

"Um, it can, yes."

Tadashi has never used another weapon. The Spear was made by Kageyama; it requires no physical contact, Tadashi can control it without touching it, moving it at speeds that render it practically invisible.

Kei is quiet while Hinata and Tadashi chatter.

He and Kei are close, always have been, but Tadashi still has trouble figuring out what's on the other's mind. Kei's eyes are quiet, the brown ringed in blue seem far away, not as bright as they usually are. They're like that whenever he's thinking too many things at once. Tadashi has seen that look while they were preparing for war, while they fought, when Kei returned from a key session.

Tadashi's never liked that look.

"Right?" Shouyou turns his attention back to Kei, looking over his shoulder to pull the other into their conversation about magical strategy.

Tadashi half expects Kei to task him what they're talking about, but the just shrugs.

"It's situational, and dependent on skill level. It could go either way," he says.

Tadashi is about to speak when he senses three approaching signatures.

Kei nudges Hinata and they all stand up.

He's never seen Iwaizumi look so haggard. His eyes are blank, his left hand twitching. He's dressed in training fatigues, his lips chewed to the point that they were probably bleeding earlier.

Daichi has the worlds on his shoulder, he must if he looks how he does. His skin is ashen, his hands are shaking like he hasn't known a moment of peace all of his life. He still radiates power and composed collection, but Tadashi has only ever seen him like this when he's in the infirmary.

As bad as they look, they're tip top compared to Suga.

Tadashi remembers making a star for Suga, intent on seeing that cheerful glow behind his eyes. Suga, Daichi, and all the old gods fought in the first war, they're older than Tadashi can comprehend. At this moment, Suga definitely looks it. Gone is the glow, his shoulders droop, and he looks as though he'll fall at any moment.

Tadashi has a vague idea as to why the three of them are here.

"Kei," Suga says warmly.

"Sugawara, Daichi, Iwaizumi." Kei's hand goes to his pocket, and Tadashi just _knows_ that's there's a key there.

Kei doesn't have to continue, Tadashi nods and puts a hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"We need to go somewhere else for a little bit. I'll show you some of my constellations."

Hinata looks like he wants to argue, but Kei nods, and that's enough apparently. Tadashi sends his spear away and gives Kei a look that says they'll be discussing this later.

Once Hinata hovers into the air, Tadashi joins him, and then they're flying off.

* * *

Kei walks them to his workshop.

The key grows immeasurably heavier with each step he takes, as if it knows _exactly_ which secret it will hold.

"I haven't been here in ages," Daichi says, fingers dragging through a mist of light and excess material. They come away sparkly, and Daichi has a small smile on his lips.

Even Iwaizumi seems a little less tense.

"Shall we make this quick?" Kei asks, removing the key from his pocket.

Daichi and Sugawara take a seat on the work bench, and Kei takes a step forward.

"Just relax," Kei says. "All I am going to do is take the memory."

"Wait, so-"

"You won't forget it, no. I take the physical, so if anyone were to look into your memories, they would be unable to see it. Then the memory gets transferred to a key and becomes a secret. I am the only one who can call up a secret from a key."

Iwaizumi nods and takes a breath.

Kei's magic surges, dark blue and nearly black, it pours from his chest, wrapping Iwaizumi up in a shroud so heavy he falls to his knees. Kei's eyes blaze electric blue as his hands begin to glow white. With a deep breath, Kei pushes into Iwaizumi's mind, sifting to find the memory. He's as gentle as possible, but this process has left other gods screaming. It gets easier with each new secret, which is somewhat troubling.

When the memory is out, it's nothing but a swirling mess of colors in Kei's palm.

Within a heartbeat, Kei puts it in the key. The workroom is drowned in light, a heavy blue so cold that frost creeps along the walls.

Kei drops the key and it leaves a dent in the table top. He pulls Iwaizumi to his feet, the demon is heavier than he looks and Kei nearly stumbles. Iwaizumi breathes heavy, sucking in breath after unnecessary breath.

"You could have warned me," he says good naturedly

"You would have tensed up, it would have hurt more."

Daichi supports most of Iwaizumi's weight and Sugawara stands, taking a step towards Kei.

"You look more worried than usual," he says.

"Are we going to war, Koushi?"

"It's a definite possibility," Sugawara says without hesitation.

"After Shouyou's initiation?"

"It's up in the air."

"Very well."

Sugawara walks out behind Daichi and Iwaizumi after a few more moments. Not too long after, Yamaguchi and Shouyou poke their heads into the workshop.

Yamaguchi has a knowing smile and sad eyes, and Shouyou just looks concerned.

"Everything go all right?"

Kei doesn't have to follow Yamaguchi's line of sight to know he's looking at the dent in the work table, and the new key.

"You look sad," Shouyou says. He doesn't hesitate to fly over, locking his legs around Kei's waist. Kei doesn't feel his arms come up to support Shouyou, but he knows that they do.

"Kei?"

"I'm fine."

* * *

First off, many thanks to all of the lovely comments and just amazing readers, you are all the best I could ask for.

In more news:

What in the everloving hell have I put into this chapter? I look forward to questions.

I most likely won't be able to upload until I get back home, everything is on paper right now and I don't have reliable access to a laptop at this time. If you need more info, please check the tumblr. Feel free to ask me questions/yell at me there as well.


	12. Ceremony, Sprites, and Thoughts

Sorry for the wait! But here's where our action is starting to pick up! Ima let you read now but there's more info in the end notes!

Oh real quick, I don't know if it counts as body horror, or just somewhat disturbing imagery, but towards the end there's a little scene with Daichi. It's not bad, I swear, but I know that sort of stuff really creeps some people out. You can skip it, there's not really any super important info there. It's really only like two or three sentences.

* * *

The day starts with a hallucination.

Kei wakes from a light sleep, somewhat disoriented as his rooms slowly lights up to combat the dark. There are feathers on his bed, slender and grey, shining in the low light. Kei finds himself staring, hands trembling as he reaches out for one.

For a heartbeat, he can actually feel it. It's a feather from his major wings, somewhat stiff, brittle at the ends but soft towards the center. He can feel each vane, each barb, can remember how much magic a single one of his feathers held. It glows faintly, and it wilts under Kei's touch.

Then it's gone. All the feathers vanish and Kei twists his arm to place his hand between the scars. There's nothing there, just skin and tissue.

No feathers.

He scrubs at his face. It's been getting worse lately.

With a quiet sigh, he gropes around for his glasses. Pushing up onto his feet, Kei makes his way through the door. Yamaguchi is sleeping soundly, his signature little more than a pleasant hum through the halls of their home.

Kei moves with slow, deliberate steps to the edge of the cliff.

He lost his wings sometime in the latter half of the war, he patched himself up with the help of a few nymphs then went back to fighting, ignoring how light his body felt, and how heavy in spirit he was. He never saw that monster again, too busy throwing himself into the fighting. Chains whipping about, magic engulfing his body, Kei was a force of the universe.

Sugawara's birds kept him updated; told him of Ushijima's triumph with his team in the South, of Oikawa's campaign of devastation, but Kei stopped reading after a while.

When the news of the war being over arrived to him, Kei made his way to the Palace to check in. He was shaking, covered in blood and open wounds, chains darting to bite anyone who came near him. He collapsed in the infirmary, wingless and exhausted, and stayed in a light healing sleep for a few days until Daichi woke him up.

Sugawara came to him with a secret, a secret so heavy that Kei nearly dropped the key when the time came, and broke into tears. The two of them left immediately to spell the room at the prison, Daichi stayed in the infirmary with those who still needed attention, but Yahaba came along.

Following Sugawara, it was Kenma, then Asahi, and Tanaka. Finally, it was Kuroo.

Barefoot, Kei walks down to the beach.

He stops just short of the waves, watching the water come within breaths of his toes. His moon shines spectacularly, despite appearing only as a crescent. It's not the one Shouyou's enamoured with, but another of Kei's prides. Tinged red, low gravity, absolutely littered with craters, it had been a gift for the previous Sun God.

Kei closes his eyes and mumbles a summoning spell.

The block of material he took from the sea cave has been hiding in his vanished space for some time. Now, it sits in his hands, glimmering alongside an empty, metal vial infused with Last Breath.

Blood, magic, light, flecks of stone from the cave wall, the block feels heavier than it truly is.

His magic pours from between his shoulders down to the block.

To an onlooker, Kei appears as little more than a beacon of magic, engulfed in raging blue and white, the lines of his form almost entirely obscured. The block glows hot, a contrasting electric blue before it suddenly stops.

Kei watches the rock crumble into dust, falling through his fingertips to mingle seamlessly with the sand.

The vial holds the contents of the block, silver flecked in blue, a combination magic and of blood, both Kei's and the monster's. Kei rolls it between his hands, staring as though the solution to his everything is in the mess of magic contained in the vial.

He didn't say how he lost his wings, hardly anyone asked. It wasn't like Kei was seen with his wings all that often. He kept them drawn in, didn't flaunt them, they all knew he spent ages amongst the clouds, but that didn't mean much. There were other wounds that called attention. Bokuto lost one of his eyes, Kageyama had to work with Kyoutani and Daichi to build prosthetic limbs for Ennoshita, Tendou, Akaashi, Inuoka, Komi, and Kindaichi. Everyone's got scars, layers of them actually.

Even those who didn't fight.

Kei vanishes the vial and trudges back up the path.

He summons the key to the artifact room without a thought and unlocks the door, stepping inside. Nothing has changed since his last check in but he wanders over to the stands of enchanted battle armor and sits down in front of them. Saeko's was only recently put in, finally given up by Tanaka, Akiteru's sits proudly amongst the racks, towards the front as they're more recent additions. The stands near the back hold the armor of those who fell during the first war, and a few who died prior.

Kei's a first incarnation god, most of them are. Kei and his brother were both born of the sky, Akiteru came from the day and Kei from the night, though their physical appearances were much greater than anticipated. The oracle had seen their arrival, and they were met by Oikawa, Ushijima, and Ennoshita.

Akiteru's two war sashes are not with his armor, Kei has them, in the same way that Tanaka has his sister's weapon. They don't belong on a stand in the artifact room.

"What do you think?" Kei asks aloud.

Understandably, Akiteru's armor doesn't respond.

"We'll win again, right? But better than last time, no lies. And no one's going to die this time, I'm not losing anyone else."

Kei knows it's pointless, Akiteru's gone and he's not coming back. He's not going to get any answers this way, but he can't help it. He wasn't there when Akiteru died, no one has any secrets pertaining to him, all Kei knows is that his brother was alone.

A group of nymphs found his body and brought it back to the Palace.

Gods don't get put in the stars, they don't get buried, and Akiteru's not getting reincarnated. His body was given back to the sky, dissipating into light when he was sent out. No physical form, and no way to come back, Akiteru is completely gone.

Kei has no way of getting him back.

He talks to his brother's armor for a little while longer before he gets up, locking the room. He double checks that it's vanished, like always, then goes to his workshop.

Once seated at a table, Kei summons back the vial. He calls a few empty bowls from around the workshop and takes a deep breath.

Ever since Shouyou patched up his back, his magic has flowed easier. But it was just that, a patch job, and Kei's too stubborn to go to Daichi. His back wasn't fixed, it's not going to ever be, so when he calls up his magic, there's a tug along his spine, a shooting pain that he's far too used to at this point.

The magic is black, his eyes white. The vial glows blue as Kei uncaps it. He lets the vial roll down the table, attention focused wholly on the material that's slowly returning to silver.

He separates out his own magic from the blood, then separates his blood from the monster's. Each component settles in a bowl and once Kei's sure none of them are volatile, he lets his magic dissipate.

Kei doesn't realize how long he spends staring at the bowls until Yamaguchi knocks on the door. He seals the bowl with his magic to hide the signature and calls for Yamaguchi to come in.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Yamaguchi has a star beast, a serpent of some kind, draped over his shoulders. He's still in his sleep clothes, stars humming softly.

He's limping.

"No," Kei says, gesturing for Yamaguchi to take a seat.

Yamaguchi eases himself down, sighing lightly when he's seated comfortably.

"Your leg?"

"It's just a little stiff, it'll be fine soon."

Yamaguchi has a smile that Kei's not particularly fond of. He's a gifted liar, so he knows whenever Yamaguchi is hiding something. During the war, Yamaguchi took a blow to his right hip, clean through the bone, and earned a scar that runs down his knee from a followup attack. Daichi fixed him up without much trouble, but Yamaguchi gets stiff on occasion. Despite it not being debilitating, Kei knows that it hurts.

"Really, it's fine."

Kei drops the matter, Yamaguchi is just as stubborn as he is, they'll get nowhere like this.

"New project?" Yamaguchi asks, glancing over the bowls.

"Tentative experiment."

When Kei makes no move to continue his work, Yamaguchi nods.

"Hinata's pulling the sun this morning, we should watch."

Kei vanishes the bowls once Yamaguchi's back is turned. The star beast stays inside, it's still fairly dark out but Shouyou will bring the sun soon enough.

Manual movement of planetary bodies hasn't been necessary for some time, but whenever there's ceremony, a new god, or something of the same proportion, the old tradition gets brought back. Given that Shouyou's pulling the sun across the sky this morning, they'll start ceremony preparations in a few days, a week maybe.

The first time Kei pulled the moon, Akiteru was with him, flying right along side him. That had been a good night, seeing everyone from the sky, their gazes turned warmly up to him. At the time, he told himself it was no big deal, he'd probably end up pulling the moon a few more times, it wasn't anything special.

But seeing Shouyou pull the sun will be magnificent.

They settle on the cliff, Kei brings his knees to his chest and Yamaguchi lets his feet dangle over the edge. The stars are just starting to fade, night receding as Shouyou and his sun draw ever closer.

"I think he'll do great things," Yamaguchi says suddenly.

Kei spares Yamaguchi a sideways glance, taking in the pleasant smile and warm eyes, hazy glowing stars shining orange.

"Of course."

Yamaguchi laughs, soft and gentle.

"There he is."

Kei turns his gaze back to the sky. Sure enough, there's Shouyou, bringing morning across the sky. He's dressed in formal wear, gradient fabrics shifting between red, orange, and white, barefoot while his wings have been adorned with golden clips. Even from the ground, Kei can make out Shouyou's blazing eyes, face rosy from exertion and joy.

Daichi's accompanying him, leading the way atop a massive version of one of Sugawara's paper birds.

Shouyou laughs and Kei feels his lips twitch up in response, a light dusting of pink appearing across his cheek.

He chalks it up to the sudden appearance of heat, seeing as Shouyou's just a fraction off in his arc for the sun.

That's what it is.

* * *

The light isn't behaving how Kei wants it to, and it's starting to get irritating.

The morning is all about aesthetic work, decorating the Hall for the officiation ceremony tomorrow. The evening holds fortification and set up; it will be all high energy, somewhat unstable until everything is finished. But tomorrow is when all the hard work comes in, for Kei especially.

Almost every god has a counterpart. Those counterparts have grown somewhat complicated as some gods have been reincarnated. Kei has inherited a few aspects, other aspects have been split between various gods and nymphs. Tanaka's counterpart is Ushijima. Yachi's is Konoha, but if Konoha ever dies, whoever he's reincarnated as will unable to be officiated because Yachi doesn't have all of Saeko's aspects. Which means his aspects will likely end up being distributed amongst already existing gods, those who've already been officiated.

Kei is Shouyou's counterpart, despite holding extra aspects.

Everyone has their part in the ceremony, but Kei will be guiding, acting as the conduit and taking on the strain of blessing Shouyou as a proper god. Kei was officiated by the former Sun God, and the process seemed incredibly trying for the older god.

Like Sugawara, each god has a blessing, and they're used in the ceremony. Pure energy will flow through the blessings, it will twist and join until it's nothing but a single mass which then uses Kei to get to Shouyou.

It's not so big a deal as it sounds, he'll just need to rest once he's done with decorations.

Yamaguchi is on the other side of the Hall, instructing Lev and Bokuto with their columns. His constellations are at work as well, bringing in lanterns from Kiyoko's garden. Each pair of gods has a column, though the pairs change with every ceremony, and the column is a culmination of their aspects into a visual representation. Kiyoko and Tanaka had a column at one point, it was a frighteningly beautiful display of fire and flowers.

Kei won't have a column this year, whichever god is serving as a counterpart won't have one. In the past he's worked with Kuroo, Bokuto, Akaashi, and Lev.

Of all days to be finicky though, the lights choose the day of Shouyou's ceremony preparation. They keep glaring too bright, or too dim. They're Tanaka's lights, which is part of the problem. Why he was asked to use them instead of Tanaka is beyond him. But Tanaka's lights are in warm colors, and he's on the same end of the elemental spectrum as Shouyou.

"Tsuki?"

Kei turns around, Yamaguchi's gesturing to the swirling column of soft glowing music, interspersed with tendrils of smoke.

"Looks fine."

Yamaguchi nods, rubbings his hands together as he sends Bokuto and Lev out with a call to tell the next pair to come into the Hall.

Kei turns back around.

"All right, ornery things," he mumbles.

Kei vanishes the lights and creates his own. Sure, they won't be as warm as Tanaka's, but they are purely for decoration, they won't affect the ceremony. Soon enough, Kei has a few hundred lights, white with only the faintest tinge of blue.

He fits them into the lanterns with ease.

Kiyoko's made special lanterns, creating new flowers just for Shouyou. The lanterns are composed of large fronds overlayed with petals the color of sunrise and infused with Starshine. They're spelled to float with light, so when Kei places one of his in the petal folds, it rises up to the ceiling.

By the time Kei finishes with the lights, Yamaguchi has already left. Others are starting their part in the decorations.

Something tugs at Kei's robe and he looks around.

Behind him, head barely at his hip, is a little girl. He glances up for a few seconds, scanning the room to see if anyone else is seeing this child. Asahi makes eye contact with him and gives him a small smile before turning back to Ennoshita and their column.

"And you are?"

She's an elemental sprite, that much is certain, the only question is which denomination. Her eyes are a shiny black, while her hair appears to be composed of actual flames. Her dress looks to be one of Kyoutani's works; spelled fabric, shimmering red and pink, fluttering about her body. Bangles glowing like coal line her arms from her wrists to her elbow, and she has a pendant around her neck. She's tiny, and Kei doesn't hesitate to pick her up when she lifts her arms and makes grabbing gestures at him.

"I'm Natsu," she says happily.

Kei props her on his side, taking note of the diminutive wings sprouting from her back

"How'd you get into the Palace?"

Most sprites live in communities, they tend to keep away from the Gods' stronghold. Not this one, apparently.

"Shouyou brought me!"

"Shouyou?"

"Mm-hmm!"

It figures, Kei really isn't all that surprised. Given that she's alone though, Shouyou is likely with Sugawara or Daichi, going over what will happen during the ceremony.

Natsu doesn't seem to want to get down, so Kei continues to hold her.

"Who are you?" she asks after a moment.

"Kei."

"Kei, you're a god?"

"Yes."

"Wow."

Kei's not sure what to do next. He's finished his part in the preparations for the time being, so it's not like there's anything he needs to immediately be doing. The only other item he has to finish is blessing distribution, but that can be done later.

He's never really been around sprites, especially one as young as Natsu seems to be. What would she like to do?

They end up going to the garden, Kei carries her until they come to a small space partially sectioned off by hanging vines and dotted by glowing flowers. Kei tucks the vines aside so that sunlight spills in as well. He used to play in spaces like this, or simply relax, when he was younger. He probably still has a book hidden away in the garden somewhere.

"Kei?" Natsu seems to share Shouyou's awed expression, looking at the flowers with the same reverence that Shouyou has when he looks on at the moon.

"Hm?"

"What's your job?"

"I make things," he says simply

"Like what?"

He sits down, selecting a few flowers. They grow back as Kei weaves the ones he's picked. After a few moments, He holds up a small bracelet, and Natsu lets him tie it around her wrist.

"Like this."

"Wow, can you teach me?"

They pass a few hours making jewelry from the flowers. Natsu can't wear the crowns on account of her hair, so she makes Kei wear them until he manages to spell one of them against flames. By the time she speaks up again, Natsu has a few necklaces, a ring for each finger, and she sits in front of Kei as he weaves a cape for her.

"Kei?"

"Yes?"

"What's everyone setting up for?"

"Shouyou's officiation."

"Officiation?"

"It's a ceremony, it will make him a real god," he says awkwardly, not quite sure how to explain it. Natsu apparently doesn't get the concept. She turns around slightly, mindful of her hair, and fixes Kei with a curious look.

"But Shouyou is real."

"It will make him official," Kei amends, "At the moment, he doesn't have all of his powers, when he's officiated he'll gain access to them, and he might obtain a new aspect."

"Oh, can I help?"

Only gods participate in the legitimate ceremony, Yachi's included because of the specific aspects she inherited from Saeko. While others can be present, they're simply onlookers.

"I'm sure he'd enjoy a crown to wear during the ceremony."

Natsu nods enthusiastically and toddles off to find the perfect flowers. They work together on the crown, Kei enchants it so it won't wilt, and won't be destroyed in the ceremony, and Natsu covers it in firelight to give it a warm glow.

Akiteru taught him how to weave flowers, it's something the two of them did together often. Kei liked the quiet and quality time, Akiteru liked teaching him things.

"Finished," Natsu cheers, holding the crown up for Kei's final inspection.

"Very good."

"I'm going to add something!, Then I'll give it to him. Thank you, Kei!" Natsu flutters a short ways from the ground for a few breaths before she takes off running back towards the palace.

Kei stays where he is for a short while, toying idly with the somewhat uneven necklace that Natsu made for him. It's reminiscent of his early attempts at flower weaving, and the thought strikes a blow to his heart.

With a heavy sigh, Kei pushes up onto his feet.

He has to get the blessings, then distribute them to everybody. It shouldn't be too hard, most everyone is at the Palace for preparations.

Sugawara and Akaashi are the only ones with their blessings at the ready, the rest are kept in the artifacts room.

Yamaguchi's waiting for him at the gate. He's dusting flecks of pink from his clothes, there's stubborn bits of red light clinging to his skin as well. He doesn't say anything about Kei's floral additions, but Kei raises a brow in question at the lights.

"Goshiki's my partner for this column."

Well, that explains it.

They blur through the time and arrive home faster than usual. Kei stops in his room to settle Natsu's flower creations on his bed before summoning the key to the artifact room.

"It's been so long since I've seen mine," Yamaguchi says from the doorway, watching Kei collect the boxes with the blessings. They're carefully packaged, some are volatile, and direct contact with others might result in combustion.

Which won't end well at all.

Kei separates them into a few small baskets, giving them to Yamaguchi while he closes the door. He takes them back as soon as he's done.

Once outside, Kei uses a tangible thread of magic to lift Yamaguchi's blessing from the others.

Unlike Sugawara's, Yamaguchi's blessing barely fills his palm. It's white, though appears to have no solid substance. The divot in the center swirls dark, a pseudo black hole that serves no purpose other than aesthetic. The moment it touches his skin, Yamaguchi's whole person shines bright, an almost oppressive shade of white, streaked in gold.

When the light dies down, Yamaguchi's eyes are ringed in black, and there are more stars on his skin.

"I forgot how good that felt," he whispers.

Kei doesn't take his blessing yet, he'll wait until everyone has theirs.

"How long has it been?" He asks. They start on their way back to the Palace, Yamaguchi still coming down from the sudden influx of his blessing.

"Since Shirabu was officiated."

Kei's had to use his a few times since then; schedule refreshing of the artifact room with Akaashi, and whenever new artifacts are moved in. The effect of his blessing won't be as severe as Yamaguchi's, only because he has more frequent contact with it.

Moniwa gets his blessing, and Kei leaves the rest of his team's with him to distribute. They go to the garden and find Kiyoko, Yachi, Asahi, and Yamamoto. Yachi's blessing belonged to Saeko, there are a few modifications, but given that it's her first time interacting with it, she shines brighter than the other three.

They move through the Palace, Kei handing out everyone's blessing as they encounter them. Tanaka nearly sets a tapestry on fire, but other than that, there aren't any major issues. Soon enough, the only blessings left are Daichi's and Kageyama's. Kei has Yamaguchi take Kageyama's. Daichi hadn't made it an official secret, but he doesn't want anyone else seeing him upon initial contact with his blessing.

Yamaguchi gives him a look but accepts the basket with Kageyama's blessing anyways.

Daichi's sitting in the infirmary.

It's empty now, Iwaizumi was the only body for the longest time. Daichi has a room for himself, but he spends whatever time he's not at the border in the infirmary.

"That time again?"

He's weary, Kei doesn't envy what he's doing. But it will be over soon, then Daichi can get some rest. His duality is often baffling. Daichi governs aspects concerning healing, but also plague and disease. Just as easily as he could heal a wound, he could wipe out legions with a fast acting virus that will drop them almost instantaneously. As the Palace General, he semi shares an aspect with Kageyama, one of strategy. Unfortunately for him, his mind constantly runs all the possible outcomes of a decision. Good, bad, horrific, Daichi sees it all constantly.

A heartwarming victory followed by hollow grief at a monumental loss.

No, Kei doesn't envy him at all.

"It is."

Daichi's sigh actually sounds like it hurts.

Daichi's blessing is a slight bit different than everyone else's. Instead of being round in shape, it actually has no shape at all, it's liquid in form. Pale green with white, it glows.

Kei releases his magic and the blessing moves to Daichi's hand on its own. It sits there a moment before seeping into his skin.

Kei averts his eyes.

He's seen this once before, and that was enough.

Upon interaction with his blessing, Daichi's body bears every injury he's healed in the past. While he's not actively bleeding, Daichi is little more than a cracked shell leaking light, body broken and held together with magic alone.

That's only one part of it.

Daichi had wings at one point, brilliant wings of white feathers that Kei has only seen in snatches of other gods' memories. His wings return to him for a few precious moments until the interaction wears off and Daichi is back to being whole again.

Kei catches him as he sways, helping him sit on the edge of a cot.

"Thank you."

Kei nods, getting the feeling that Daichi wants to say something more.

"Are you ready for the ceremony?" Daichi asks after a moment.

"I don't anticipate any problems."

"And what will come after?"

"I believe I am as ready as I can be."

Daichi nods slowly then stands up again.

"I should go check on Shouyou. I assume you met Natsu? She left a few things in her community and Shouyou offered to get them for her. She said she needed them to add to something she was making him."

They part ways at the hall and Kei neglects the time fields to take the long way home.

His blessing is slightly bigger than his palm, and instead of a center divot, he has four along the outer edge to rest his fingers, and a larger divot for the butt of his palm. It's sleek silver, glinting blue in the sunlight, but it holds no glow.

He sets down the basket and lets go of his magic, allowing the blessing to fall into his hands.

Kei's head tips back, a sharp whine drones in his ears and he feels as though he's suffocating until he feels the weight of his wings against his back. He falls to his knees, unable to see past the light his body is giving off.

It doesn't last so long, but Kei is left breathless when it's over. He lets himself tip until his back meets the ground. Slowly, he unfolds his legs from beneath him, wincing slightly.

The days passed in blurred clips during the war. Some days dragged for eons, others were over in a second. Kei thought at first that it was Akaashi's doing, but Sugawara's birds told him otherwise. It was all perception then, Kei doesn't remember a day in which he wasn't fighting, and eventually, most of them all bled into one another.

He's not looking forward to that again.

* * *

Okay, so, here's the dealio. I just started a new semester and I am absolutely swamped, I won't be able to update as often as I want to, and that sucks. However, I can still totally answer questions and whatnot, I just won't have the time to actually sit down and write a full length chapter.

I thought about including each character's interaction with their blessing but that would have gotten really tedious, really fast. That being said, if you want to know what a character's blessing looks like and/or how their interaction went, you can shoot me an ask on tumblr at the wire-pudding blog. You can direct any other questions/thoughts/predictions there as well!

Thank you all so much for being so patient with me, and for the amazing reception this story has gotten, I'm so happy!


	13. Secrets Revealed, a Light Snuffed Out

I've put together a document with basic background for the story! You can find it on the wire-pudding blog, it's a google doc and I'll be updating it time and again. If there's anything world building wise that you want to know, ask me on the blog and I'll add it to the document.

Happy reading!

* * *

He's supposed to be resting, needs to be actually. If his body isn't properly peaceable for the ceremony then the whole process will take a massive toll on him. As if his back wasn't bad enough.

Kei sits up though, slips on his glasses, and goes outside. His sight is a little fuzzy, his hands somewhat shaky, but he'll be okay. He sits down a safe ways from the cliff's edge, a fall from this height would certainly prove debilitating.

Part of him wishes for Shouyou to remain as he is, no need for officiation. Without the ceremony, there will be no need to transfer the secrets from the key, no need to go to war, whether amongst themselves or their enemy. Things will be simpler if Shouyou doesn't get officiated, life will continue on, undisturbed by new complications.

Akiteru would have laughed at the very thought.

Kei lets himself slump, easing out the tight ache little by little from his shoulders. He holds his blessing in his hands, occasionally sliding his thumb over it, or drumming his fingers along the divots.

Blessings are more fickle than keys, Kei's just lucky he's not the one who makes them. Each blessing is unique to each incarnation of God. Yachi's was Saeko's, but it changed upon her manifestation. The blessings were made by the oracle, around Akaashi's manifestation. Kei has no idea how they were formed, only that they're a short step away from being sentient objects. They're amplifiers with the ability to tap into the deepest sources of powers for temporary use. Each god has a varying amount of power to begin with, and that's more specifically shown through their blessings, which is why Kei needed Sugawara's for the seal at the prison. Kei's own blessing doesn't have quite the power necessary, but it still has more than Asahi's or Goshiki's.

Kei turns his blessing over, lightly tracing the short scratches that sit just off center.

Everyone had access to their blessings during the war, Kei's fairly sure that they wouldn't have won without them.

Certain events notwithstanding.

He slips the blessing into the pocket of his robe and fixes his eyes down to the dark waves on the beach.

Part of him wants to tell everyone they should start making preparations, submit requests for weaponry, touch up their armor, do _something_ to ensure the best possible outcome. Unlike last time, there will be no last minute deal to save everyone. Blood will keep spilling until one side is utterly decimated.

It will end in extinction.

Kei feels a little sick.

He squeezes his eyes shut and holds them closed for a while. When he opens them, the world is brighter.

Shouyou sits there, hair all manners of messy, dressed in a thick robe and without shoes. He hovers a moment before Kei gets the memo and leans back so Shouyou can sit in his lap.

There's something off. Shouyou always looks so happy, now he just looks nervous, Kei doesn't think it looks right at all. He's been chewing on his lip, his nails too by the looks of them. His glow is shaky, his irises swirl, changing color repeatedly every few heartbeats or so.

Shouyou draws in his wings so he can lean back. Absently, he starts toying with Kei's hands.

"Suga said I should get some rest, but I can't. I don't think I've felt so scared and excited all at the same time."

"Scared?"

Shouyou gives a nervous laugh.

"The way Tanaka and Noya described it- is it gonna hurt?"

Kei sighs. Of all the tactless imbeciles Shouyou had to go to in order to get answers, he went to the best of the bunch. He gives Shouyou's hands a little squeeze.

"It's not as bad as you're thinking. It feels like too much."

"Too much?"

"Yes. You might feel like you'll pass out, but it doesn't hurt, not really. When it's over you'll feel new, more powerful, better."

"Oh. Is that what it was like for you?"

"Yes."

They sit in the quiet for a short time, Shouyou leans back more and more, tipping his head to rest it on Kei's shoulder.

"What was the Sun God before me like? I heard that you guys wouldn't have won the war without him."

Kei writes himself a mental note to go have a talk with Bokuto. Once he gets on about old war stories, he won't shut up. No doubt Shouyou asked him a simple question and it spun from there. Either that, or Shouyou asked Kageyama and received a blunt, not entirely informational, answer in response.

"He was one of our best assets, he handled whole legions all on his own. He was a first incarnation, and he knew how to handle all of his aspects. Come to think of it, he was small too, though not nearly as small as you." Shouyou shoves at him playfully and Kei bites down a smile. "Kageyama made him a weapon, it was a saber, made from Sunrise Colors, Dawn, and Courage. He handled it well. We didn't interact much past my officiation, and everyone was scattered during the war. I didn't know he'd died until long after. From what I heard, he was in the West, helping my brother."

"I'm going to be like that some day."

"Hmm?"

"Strong. I'm weak right now, I know that, but I'm going to get stronger. I'll be a better Sun God than he was."

Shouyou's eyes are brown now, deep, ringed in red and swirled with white. They look pretty. Kei ruffles his hair and they lapse into silence for a little while longer.

"The Palace," Shouyou starts.

"What about it?"

"It feels heavy, like-" Shouyou lets go of Kei's hands to gesture, making an accompanying sound effect that Kei can't make sense of, "You know?"

"Yes." No.

"I don't know, I'm probably imagining it, right? Tobio said it was nerves."

"I can't speak for Kageyama, but I'm sure everything will figure itself out. Don't worry about it, tomorrow is all about you. You should enjoy it, don't dwell on troublesome things."

Shouyou laughs, and Kei smiles.

He knows what Yamaguchi thinks. Shouyou's good for him, keeps him from isolating himself, makes him smile, draws him out from whatever abstract hiding place he puts himself in. Shouyou's good for him, he won't argue with the fact. He just doesn't know what he's supposed to do.

"You're thinking too hard about something," Shouyou says, smile evident in his voice. "Your face gets all pinched up. Is something wrong?" He twists around and pokes between Kei's eyebrows, pushing up against the furrow. Kei relaxes his face and Shouyou taps his forehead.

"No, just thinking, it's of little consequence."

Shouyou shifts so he's sitting in front of Kei. He props his elbows on his knees and leans forward. The anxiety that Shouyou held upon arrival is gone now, he shows only interest.

"Are you ready? For tomorrow, I mean."

"More or less."

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Shouldn't you?"

Kei smiles when Shouyou starts laughing again. High and light, and he glows a little.

He's a liar if he says he doesn't like Shouyou, there's something about the new Sun God that makes Kei feel better. It might just be how clueless he is, untouched by the war, almost annoyingly optimistic.

It's a nice change of pace. And Shouyou is nice too.

Shouyou's lips burn.

Kei's at a loss for words. All he can register is the heat, and the sudden change in dark night to bright light. Shouyou's staring, face rosy, eyes curious but wholly fixated on Kei, on his reaction. Shouyou's wings are out, fluttering softly, wrapping up the both of them in a blanket of warm air. His glow is almost blinding, negating the darkness around them and Kei finds himself squinting.

"What about Kageyama?" he finds himself saying after a moment. It's the only thought bubbling to the forefront of his mind, past all the slow moving sludge that previously made up his thought process.

Relationships aren't all that common, nothing defined at least. There was a bit of an issue when Goshiki came into his powers, temporary romantic relationships were happening left and right. Once he got proper control, those romances not already existing ended. Everyone had a good laugh about it for a while.

Once new waves of reincarnations appeared, it was strange. Being in love with someone who no longer exists, their place taken by a new god. Romance is not at all common anymore. Kei can count the number of relationships on one hand.

Shouyou and Kageyama had been a little bit of a surprise, if only because Kageyama wasn't exactly the first god they all thought of in tandem with the word 'romantic'. But they're a good pair.

"Huh?"

"You're like this with him," Kei gestures between them. "So, what-"

"Oh," Shouyou says slowly, smiling. "Tobio's fine with it, we talked. Did you think I'd do this without telling him?"

Kei feels utterly moronic as Shouyou keeps talking.

"You weren't getting the hint, he suggested letting you know up front. I talked to Tadashi too...your face is still really red."

The hint? What hint? Shouyou's touchy with everyone, always smiling, how was Kei supposed to know? And Yamaguchi? Shouyou talked to Yamaguchi, when did that happen? What did Yamaguchi say?

"You're thinking too hard again."

"No I'm not," Kei says quickly, dropping his head to his hands, careful to avoid his glasses.

Shouyou just _kissed_ him. Not only that, the little imp has the nerve to act as though the reciprocation of feelings is apparent, that Kei should have noticed the obviousness in it all.

What in the worlds does he do now?

"You could kiss me again, if you want?"

Kei is an utter, and complete, moron.

He just nods, face red as he drops his hands. Shouyou's smiling, Kei doesn't think he's stopped since the initial brush of lips, and loops his arms around Kei's neck.

"If you're embarrassed-"

Kei kisses him.

It's quick, all that Kei can manage. Then Shouyou starts giggling again, nothing but elation in his features. His wings flap, pushing him up into the air. He flips a few times, a bright being zipping about in the air, before he returns to Kei's lap.

"Tadashi said you'd be embarrassed, Tobio thought so too."

"Shut up." Kei pulls Shouyou into his arms, he's better at hugging, he can do this much.

Shouyou skims his fingers through Kei's hair, petting down the blond strands how he sees fit.

When Kei feels as though he's composed himself enough, he draws in a deep breath and sits up, loosening his hold on Shouyou.

"Better?"

"Yes."

"Good." Shouyou presses a quick kiss to Kei's forehead. "I should get back before Suga notices I'm gone, I wasn't supposed to leave."

They stand up, rather, Kei stands up. Shouyou locks his legs around Kei's waist, refusing to move until Kei is entirely upright.

"Fair safely," Kei says once Shouyou is hovering on his own.

"Goodnight, Kei."

"Goodnight, Shouyou."

* * *

Kei wakes with a bad feeling.

Any other day, he might have ignored it, but it's the morning of Shouyou's officiation and feelings of apprehension are concerning. There are no feathers on his bed this morning so he gets up without hesitation. He can feel his chains vibrating along his wrists, anticipating something but he has no idea what.

The tension building in his back is of the type from the war. The slow wringing, cut to the bone, creeping along to his neck sort of tension that will probably kill him one of these days. It's still dark out as Kei slips into Yamaguchi's room. The lights from his stars pulse quietly as he breathes and Kei almost feels bad about waking him.

If this feeling ends up being false, however, Kei's going to talk with him about talking with Shouyou about such personal matters as Kei's feelings.

"Tadashi." He shakes Yamaguchi's shoulders for no more than a heartbeat before Yamaguchi sits up, fingers at his summoning ring.

"Tsuki? What's going on?"

"Something doesn't feel right."

"What are you talking about?" Yamaguchi yawns, but swings his legs over the edge of the bed.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling."

"You wanna go to the Palace?"

Kei mulls it over. There's not much they can do where they are. And maybe the reassurance that everyone is safe at the Palace may put him at ease. Shouyou will be there, he flew back last night. That's probably what this is. Now that he has a personal attachment to the other god he's grown more paranoid than usual.

He nods.

Yamaguchi yawns again and stands up.

Kei grabs a robe from his room, throwing it on as they leave. Yamaguchi has a better sense of the time fields so it doesn't take too long for them to arrive.

The scene is something they're not expecting.

The shimmering lights of the magical barrier are more vibrant. There's more protective magic here than Kei's felt in lifetimes.

Moniwa and half of his team are lining the walls as Kei and Yamaguchi approach.

"Present your signature!" Moniwa calls down.

Kei's bad feeling quickly morphs into one of despair and foreboding.

Yamaguchi closes his eyes, willing his signature to visibility. His stars shine brighter and a silhouette of the former Constellation God appears around him. He holds it until Moniwa approves, then that gaze is turned to Kei.

His chains start to rattle and he's about to comply when a thought occurs to him.

Terushima and his team aren't the only shapeshifters out there.

"Tsukishima!"

Kei focuses in on Moniwa's signature, searching for any imperfections that might suggest it's not really Moniwa.

But it is.

Kei's just falling deeper into his paranoia.

He makes his signature visible, and once Moniwa is satisfied, they're allowed to pass through the gate.

Futakuchi joins them on the other side.

"There's a situation," he says softly.

"What kind of situation?" Kei calls his chains forward enough that they hang just past his fingertips.

"Shouyou's missing."

"Missing?"

"What do you mean he's missing?" Kei asks.

"We're not- Moniwa let him sneak out, he said he had to meet with someone to talk about something important. He was supposed to be back before the moon change. He never made it back though, we can't find him anywhere. Sugawara can't sense his signature, and neither can anyone else."

Kei feels his heart drop, plinking down his rib cage with a light clink against each bone. The noise echoes, traveling back up his chest, choking him as it passes through his throat. It's impossible, he just saw Shouyou last night, he was fine.

Which means that something happened when Shouyou left for the Palace. If he'd not gone out to see Kei, then...

Futakuchi is still talking, from what Kei can see, Yamaguchi is responding with nervous words. He can't focus though.

Shouyou's gone, no one can sense his signature, and it's the morning of his officiation.

That's not a coincidence. That means Shouyou isn't just missing, he'd been taken. There's only one answer swirling in Kei's head, only one group of beings who'd even dare to do something. The gods have only one enemy. They'd made their peace with, and found an ally in, the demons, the shapeshifters have always been allies, the sprites are all friendly, Kenma solidified their relationship with any and all water dwellers, and the nymphs live in close quarters with the gods.

All of their wars have been fought against a single enemy, an ancient one. It hadn't even been the gods' war to begin with, it all traces back to the demons. The gods agreed to offer assistance when the demons began having trouble with their dark dwelling neighbors. Eventually, land disputes became murders, murders became miniature battles, which then led up to the war.

If Shouyou hadn't left to see Kei, they wouldn't have had the opportunity to take him.

Kei walks faster, breezing past Futakuchi and directly to the Hall.

It's not as chaotic as expected. The majority of the assembly are sitting in their seats while Daichi, Sugawara, Iwaizumi, Ushijima, and Akaashi stand off the to the side in a huddle. Yachi sits beside Kiyoko, crying, both of their flowers are a rather sullen shade of blue. Nishinoya has his head down on the table, legs bouncing, while Tanaka tries to distract him from his worry. Everyone else is in much of the same state. All the gods, minus Moniwa and his team, are present, as is Iwaizumi's team, with the exception of Kunimi. The only ones not present are Terushima and his team, they're still out on patrol, but Kei has no doubt that at least one of them will be called back to be informed.

Kei's eyes drift until he finds Kageyama.

Their Weaponsmith is holding Natsu as the little sprite cries, she has no tears, just wisps of smoke seeping from the corners of her eyes. He doesn't look to be holding up well either, but Kei's known him for lifetimes and he's only seen Kageyama cry once.

Without hesitation, Kei makes his way over, sitting down beside the two. Natsu hiccups, turning to look at him. She reaches out and he takes her from Kageyama, magic pouring from his back to cover his skin so Natsu can put her head down without fear of burning him.

Kageyama rubs at his eyes, tucking one of his legs up when he's done.

"He wasn't here when I woke up. The last time I saw him was last night," Kageyama says quietly.

Kei nods, patting Natsu on her back as her crying gets a bit worse.

"What are they talking about?" he asks, gesturing to the group of old gods on the other side of the room.

"I don't know, Akaashi set up a field around them so no one can get close. It's serious." Kageyama bites at his lower lip, "There's something else though, everyone can feel it, Shouyou's not just missing."

When Yamaguchi gets to the Hall, he sits beside Kei, worrying away at his lip as he fiddles with his summoning ring.

"Tsukishima!"

Iwaizumi's voice rings out over the Hall, Kei's head snaps up as if on a rope.

Ushijima and Akaashi are no longer there, it's just Iwaizumi, Yahaba, Sugawara, and Daichi. This is the road they're taking, the choice they're making.

Kei stands up, gently handing Natsu back to Kageyama. He walks slowly, each footstep heavier than the previous. Everybody has their eyes on him, and it's unnerving.

Sugawara no longer looks timid and worried, his eyes are hard, his hands curled tight to prevent them from shaking. Daichi still looks exhausted, but he doesn't look as though he'll drop dead at any given moment.

Iwaizumi looks ready to burn down the world.

Before Kei can make it all the way over, Terushima and half of his team burst into the Hall.

Terushima looks as panicked as everyone feels, his team looks unnerved. He's got a monster held in a small loop of magic. An ugly thing, pale, nearly translucent, skin, wide black eyes, too many too sharp teeth to the point that they don't fit in its mouth properly. Dressed in black robes, long hair shimmering in the light of the Hall, it holds a letter in its hands.

Terushima lets it drop to the floor, but keeps his magic crackling at his hands.

"It says it has a message for Sugawara," Terushima calls.

Before anyone can do anything, before Akaashi can even think about locking the monster in a time field to keep it from saying anything, it opens its mouth.

"If the Demon King isn't presented to my master by the next sunrise, your Sun God will die, and his spirit won't be making a _repeat appearance."_

With its message delivered, the monster gives an eerie grin before vanishing with little more than a wisp of red smoke.

The Hall is silent for all of a heartbeat before panic erupts.

Voices overlap, resound, echo, all bouncing off the walls. Question upon question.

"It said 'the Demon King', Oikawa is dead, what's it taking about?"

"You don't think they'll really kill Shouyou, do you?"

"If we explain that Oikawa is dead, they have no reason to keep Shouyou, right?"

"They've been dormant for lifetimes, why now?"

"Why would they take Hinata?"

"How could they possibly destroy his spirit?"

"What do they want with Oikawa? We couldn't even find his body!"

"Everyone, silence!"

A wave of purple rolls from Ushijima's outstretched hands and everybody falls silent. Once Ushijima's sure that no one is going to suddenly start yelling, he turns to Sugawara, fire in his eyes.

"The monster said the message was for you. What is the meaning of this?"

"Yeah!" Goshiki calls, "It said they took Shouyou because they don't have Oikawa."

"Goshiki."

"Sorry."

"Sugawara, answer the question."

Kei lets his gaze wander. Ushijima looks as though he'll wait an eternity, stony gaze and steady hands, for Sugawara's answer. Yahaba looks about ready to combust, while Iwaizumi looks utterly relieved. His team looks far worse, and Kei doesn't blame them. Yamaguchi is looking to Kei for answers, and Kageyama is doing the same. Daichi looks ready to faint, Sugawara looks ready to face the pathway to death.

Everyone's focus is fixed on Sugawara, Kei wishes they'd all figure it out for themselves, not make Sugawara bare the weight of all this.

"Kei," he says softly.

Without hesitation, Kei summons Sugawara's key. He'll have to summon the rest later, but for now, just enough that Sugawara can tell them. The silver key appears in his hands a moment later and Kei closes his eyes.

Magic drips slow and steady from his back, down his arms to encircle the key. It glows white, outline in red. Sugawara clutches at Daichi's arm as one of his legs stutters.

The key explodes into nothing but light, and Kei feels an irritating pull at the base of his spine.

When Kei opens his eyes, Sugawara is taking a calming breath. The act of unlocking a secret seems enough to tip off how serious the situation is.

"Tooru isn't dead," Sugawara says after a moment. "He never died, he's alive, asleep. He's safe."

* * *

Okay, so a bunch of you already figured out that Oikawa was the one sleeping in the prison room, but here's the proper reveal! In any case, the main event is here! Shouyou's missing, the secret about Oikawa is out, and everything's gonna implode into chaos.

In case anyone's wondering, Johzenji as a whole team is a group of shapeshifters who act as patrol for the gods.

Feel free to direct any and all questions/concerns/screams at me either here or at wire-pudding.


	14. Transparency and Preparation

Hi all! I tried to throw some world building into this chapter, and clear up some stuff concerning Oikawa, hopefully it works out okay.

I also have like two essays, notes, and bunch of other stuff I should have been doing besides this, but I decided not to. I'm a terrible role model.

* * *

By the time Ushijima manages to get everyone under control, the demons, sans Iwaizumi and Yahaba, are staring at Sugawara, silently begging him to take it back. They want him to say it's a lie, a horrible lie, but anything for it not to be true.

"Hajime?" Matsukawa sounds broken, and his face falls when Iwaizumi nods.

"No-"

Everyone erupts all at once. Magic swirls, hurt laced betrayal from the demons, disbelief from the gods, a rather potent blend of grief comes from Kageyama as he tips his head back against his chair. Kei doesn't think he's going to cry, not yet anyways.

Natsu looks incredibly nervous and it occurs to Kei that the little sprite has never been around such a scene. He crosses back to his seat and picks her up, allowing Kageyama to curl up on himself. Kei settles a hand against Natsu's back, rubbing up and down to calm her. Yamaguchi stands beside him, whispering comforts to her. Kei can be a pillar, Yamaguchi is a comfort, they work well together.

For his measure, Sugawara doesn't shrink away, he stands, eyes fixed. Daichi stays beside him, ever a pillar despite what has been asked of him in recent times. There's magic gathering at both of their fingertips, as if anticipating physical retaliation.

All the upset is making Kei's chains practically vibrate against his wrists. He hands Natsu to Yamaguchi after pressing a quick kiss to the sprite's temple, safely away from her fiery hair. He wraps his chains around his knuckles as he strides back across the room.

While he doubts anyone's going to be stupid enough to try and attack Sugawara, if someone gets angry enough, that feeling will become infectious.

Ushijima's peace begins to fail as the energies rise. Rage conjured by demons is spectacular in that it feels like dying, it spreads, jumping from one being to the next until they're all blinded by their emotions.

Watari takes note of Yahaba's quiet, and his anger snuffs out almost instantaneously.

"Kunimi," he says, "Sugawara said that Tooru is asleep, we haven't seen Kunimi since… he's keeping him asleep, isn't he?"

If anything, the question causes the noise, both physical and magical, to swell.

Kei endures it, the hurt feelings are understandable, he would act the same if someone were to tell him that Akiteru had been alive all this time as well. But it's not like they could have told everyone, keeping the same secret amongst five others is difficult enough, the amount of strain it would put on Kei and his magic would be unbelievable. And they couldn't simply tell them and not lock it in a key. It's not too difficult to tap into someone's head, should someone be caught unaware, then it would all be for not.

Sugawara remained cautious, rarely leaving the Palace for fear of Kei's magic breaking, _somehow_. Kunimi stayed in the prison so it wasn't an issue, Yahaba never remains in one place for long, and when he does it's at the Palace. Daichi has impressive mental barriers, matched only by Kei's. Iwaizumi's add in to the secret was doable, Kei wouldn't want to do it again.

So he stands there, quiet as those around him express their disbelief. It's not until a very out of line accusation against Sugawara erupts that Kei has had it.

"Enough!"

His battle magic blazes, his wings waving through the assembly with nearly enough force to knock them to the floor. It's an effective way to get everyone's attention, and it helps that he's never raised his voice before.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Yamaguchi whispering something to Natsu.

"The vast majority of you have no idea- Had Oikawa not been locked away, put to sleep, he would have been taken and murdered. More lives would have been lost, of the amount that you cannot possibly begin to comprehend, they would have stopped at nothing. If Sugawara were to have told you, then our enemy would have found him sooner."

Kei pauses. His words carry weight, as the secret keeper, he will be taken seriously.

"If you think, for a moment, that his decision was anything less than a last possible effort for peace, that Sugawara tried every possible way to avoid having to go that route, speak now."

There is nothing but silence, so he continues.

"Now, Shouyou has been taken, we're not giving them Oikawa, so the only option that we have left is to go to war. We will wake Oikawa, retrieve Shouyou before the next sunrise, and we will fight."

Kei is already beginning to summon the keys necessary to further explanation, allowing them to fall into the pockets of his robes for a later time. They'll wake Oikawa, then go from there.

Everyone is staring at him.

"Wakatoshi," Sugawara says after a moment, "We'll be back shortly."

Yahaba opens a portal, waving Kei, Sugawara, Daichi, and Iwaizumi through before following. Once the portal closes, Sugawara leans on Daichi, drawing in a shaky breath. The closer they get to the door, the more Sugawara seems to panic.

He's not been to Oikawa's room since the Demon King was put inside, unwilling to face him. Kei can't blame him, but the time for guilt and childishness is far behind them. His chains unwind from his hands, the links fusing until they are bracelets once more.

"Calm yourself," Daichi whispers, placing a hand on Sugawara's shoulder.

"Tsukishima, once Kunimi wakes him, let me explain? He'll be less prone to anger if it's me," Iwaizumi says as Yahaba places his hand on the door.

Kei nods and Yahaba unlocks the door, the red glow taking a moment to take hold. As the door opens, Sugawara straightens up, Iwaizumi claps Yahaba on the shoulder, and they enter. Kunimi looks up, confusion clouding his eyes as he takes in how many have come.

"What's going on?"

"It's time," Kei answers. They'll leave the room seals up, no use in letting the monsters know where their prison is, but Kei has to remove the seals on Oikawa's body before Kunimi can wake him up.

Kunimi takes a moment to process what has just been said, but he sits up, smiling softly as he does so.

Kei holds up his blessing, standing over Oikawa. The seals are painted on his face and arms, a few materialized on his clothes. He's dressed in simple ceremony regalia, a choice made by Kunimi. The black robe is decorated with shimmery planets, traveling across the expanse of fabric. Decorated with intricate flowers of gold, and stitch work that makes Kei a little jealous, it's certainly one of Kyoutani's more delicate works. Carefully, Kei draws away the seals, the markings disappearing one by one.

Kunimi's magic fades, the purple light dissipating around them.

Almost immediately, Oikawa begins moving. Iwaizumi kneels down beside him, waiting patiently. Oikawa's muscles twitch, Kei can see movement behind his eyelids. When they open, bright red with grey pupils, they cloud over.

Kei met Oikawa after Iwaizumi, and the Demon King was unsettling. Kei thinks it's his eyes, not their coloring because they're not all that odd, just how they were always drifting, cataloging whoever they happened to glance over. Oikawa was observant, it made him a damn good strategist, and Kei is grateful that they're allies. Seeing Oikawa in battle, or even just in practice, never ceased to amaze Kei. He moved with fluid grace, the light blue details of his armour glinting as if shined on with a bright light no matter how dark the world around him was. His eyes became completely red, darkened and continued darkening as his bloodlust grew. His magic is a mix of grey and red, all deceptively delicate lines that flow out from beneath his feet before they engulf his body.

On shaky arms, he sits up, gaze fixed on Iwaizumi.

"Hajime? Wha- Where am I? What are you doing here? You're hurt."

He looks past his Second to see Kei and Yahaba, Sugawara and Daichi stand closer to the door.

The last time Oikawa saw them, Kei had wings, Daichi's face was unscarred, and Sugawara's hair had been a fair silver as opposed to the dull grey it has become. It must be a sight for him, disorienting and concerning.

"Hajime."

Yahaba sits by Kunimi as Iwaizumi wordlessly leans forward. Oikawa's eyes glaze over green as Iwaizumi presses a kiss to his forehead. When he moves back, Oikawa blinks himself back to clarity. It takes him a few moments to pull his words together, sorting through the memories and snippets of the war that Iwaizumi has just given him.

"How long has it been?" he rasps.

"A few lifetimes?" Iwaizumi sits down properly, "I only woke a short time ago."

"I imagine they're upset," he chuckles.

Yahaba clears his throat, Kunimi looks equally nervous.

"Sir? Permission to-"

Kunimi doesn't bother waiting for Yahaba to finish asking, he leaps forward for a hug and Yahaba lets his sentence end so he can join as well. Oikawa laughs, patting their backs. Once they've had their fill, Yahaba turns around to discreetly wipe the tears from his eyes.

Kei can't blame then, especially not Kunimi. The honorary god has been stuck in this room for lifetimes, keeping his captain safe, never a word of complaint. Once the situation had settled, he didn't grow angry with Sugawara. He had a short crying session with Yahaba, but that aside, Kunimi has said nothing about his self induced absence. He'd not asked Kei or Yahaba to make up a story explaining away his absence, he's not fond of lying.

Kunimi can go back now, can greet his team and apologize for whatever he feels he's done. Kei knows he blames part of the situation on himself, it's a common sentiment for their little group of secret keepers.

"Tooru?" Sugawara calls after a few beats of silence. "I'm so sorry, this was the only way. They would have killed you after killing your whole team. And I- I couldn't let that happen. We didn't have the time to tell you, and if we told everyone, then they would have found you. Our window was closing, and-"

"Thank you for keeping my team safe, Koushi," Oikawa says softly, accepting Iwaizumi's help to stand up. He holds out his hand and clasps forearms with Sugawara, staring curiously at the gloves. "We can discuss this further at another time. If you're waking me, then something's gone wrong."

"Terushima brought a scout," Kei says, "They've taken our Sun God and plan to kill him at the next sunrise if we don't give you to them. Obviously, that won't be happening."

Oikawa nods, leaning on Iwaizumi.

"Very well then, let's go."

The seven of them return to the hall, most of them moving aside as Oikawa is very nearly mobbed by his team. Kageyama hovers at the edge of the group, Kozume just behind him. Natsu is sitting with Yachi, a protective layer of magic surrounding the little sprite. He watches as Oikawa gives Kageyama a silent invitation to join the hug. Along with Oikawa, the demons take care to hug Kunimi as well.

Kei stands beside Kenma, taking in the nymphs evident worry.

"Shouyou was taken?"

By the lack of surprise at Oikawa's appearance, Kei guesses that Kageyama already told him what had been said in his absence. Blocking out the overjoyed cries from Oikawa's team, the grumbles and gasps from the gods around them, and the overarching unease bubbling beneath everyone's skin, Kei focuses his attention on Kozume.

The nymph looks about ready to burst into a puddle. His eyes are completely black, his sea plants twitching erratically, while the water in the fountain along the far wall is bubbling, some of it sloshing out the side.

"Kageyama explained the situation?"

"A bit."

"I'm going to find him. I have an idea about how they're keeping him hidden."

It's an idea that's been buzzing at the back of his head since Futakuchi said that no one could sense Shouyou's signature. It's also an idea he doesn't want to entertain.

There are a slim few ways that Shouyou could be rendered undetectable.

Just two, actually.

The first would require the use of old magic, which the monsters definitely have, however the amount needed to dampen the power of a god like Shouyou would be detectable. There are spikes of magic across their realm all the time, but they are easily distinguishable. A burst of magic caused from a ceremony in Kenma's oceans feels different than a renewal ceremony for the forest. The monster's old magic carries death, a bloody history that they've all been a part of at some time or another.

If they were using it to hide Shouyou, someone would have sensed it.

The second way is what has Kei feeling both euphoric and dreadful.

As the God of the Moon, obscurity falls in snugly with Kei's other aspects. It's his magic that keeps Moniwa's prisons hidden, his magic that fuels the shrouds of invisibility that Kyoutani makes. His magic keeps the secrets and artifacts hidden, in such a way that there's no indication, no trace of them existing at all.

Most of that magical capacity resided in his wings.

For lifetimes, he convinced himself that what he was sensing was nothing more than his mind attempting to comfort him. Either that or destroy him, he still hasn't figured that part out yet. Regardless. If his wings, when they were ripped from his back, remained intact, the magic would remain as well.

It's entirely likely that the monster who took his wings could have used them to hide Shouyou.

Kei's not a strategist like Kageyama or Oikawa, but he's sharp, he can recognize a taunt laced trap when he sees one.

And that's exactly what this is.

Shouyou was taken because he's unofficiated, without his full potential, he was an easy target for a being as old as the monsters. It has nothing to do with his connection to Kei, but the monsters are smart, he won't pretend otherwise. Kei's the only one who can sense his wings, the only one who can find Shouyou. He'll go, and wind up face to face with the monster who took his wings from him.

The difference between this fight and the last is that Kei will be full of rage and without his wings.

"I hate to break up the reunion, but we have a problem." Terushima doesn't look worried per say, just anxious. He's bouncing, eyes swirled yellow as they look through the walls of the Palace.

"What is it?" Sugawara asks.

"It said we had until sunrise or they were going to kill Shouyou. Guess that deadline doesn't apply to the advance forces coming our way."

"How far?"

Terushima's eyes swirl, focusing and unfocusing at a dizzying pace.

"They're just cresting the mountains in the North, and a smaller force just entered the mouth of the Far Forest in the West, we have some time."

"Very well, call in Moniwa and his team, tell him to put up another layer in the barrier, they need to be here."

Sugawara's eyes turn to Kei as Terushima runs from the Hall.

Transparency among the lot of them will ultimately be beneficial. Kei has keys from Kuroo, Kenma, Tanaka, Asahi, and Daichi already prepared. These secrets are the big ones from the war, the ones that will cause the most trouble, but they all need to know.

They all seem to realize it as well.

In pairs and groups, the assembly moves away from the table, Moniwa and his team joining moments later, forming a loose circle around Kei as he sits down on the ground. He crosses his legs, surprised for a heartbeat when Natsu appears in his lap.

By Terushima's report, they'll have enough time to get through these secrets. Following, Ushijima will have to keep control of the peace. Most likely, they'll keep Akaashi occupied with slowing the passage of time, so they have more. There have been no detrimental effects on the realm since Shouyou's capture, so he's still in good health. But eventually, they'll show through. Kei wishes there was another way, Akaashi can only do so much.

He'll move one by one, key by key, until he can't spare anymore time.

The first Key is Daichi's, Kei almost feels bad for him. He links up to everyone but Natsu, he'll not be responsible for showing someone so young the carnage this key holds.

Yachi's holding Kiyoko's hand, seemingly prepared for what is to come.

The key glows light green, lined in white. Unlike Sugawara's, it unravels like bandages as opposed to exploding.

This secret is of the recent variety. There have been scout teams, Daichi's been handling them on his own, traveling out before they're found out by Terushima and his scouts. Plague drips from Daichi's hands, infecting any monster in his vicinity. Their bodies shrivel as they drop to the ground. Scene upon scene of different massacres. Scout parties that were resting, having made camp for the night. Active fighters with the intent to kill. It doesn't matter. He drags himself back to the Palace, exhausted and covered in blood.

The next key is Kenma's, and it glows blue, melting and spilling out of Kei's hand as he unlocks the secret.

Kenma's head is just above the waves, his eyes transfixed on the vague shapes of gods and monsters on the shoreline. Kenma's neutral, nymphs don't hold the same age old pacts or grudges like gods and demons, they keep to themselves for the most part. But Kenma can't take his eyes off the scene. He could invite them into the water, could save them, but that would break his neutrality. So he tries to ignore it, tries to close his eyes are turn away, but he can't. As a curved blade runs its way through the gods, Kenma dives, swimming deeper and deeper as their blood spills into his water.

For Kei, the next keys all blur together. These are ones he's seen in his dreams countless times before.

Asahi takes pity on a small group of monsters, a group who will shortly after attack Saeko, leaving her with a wound that will kill her.

Tanaka rampages, torturing monsters until they're down to their last breath on the off chance that they'll tell him who killed his sister.

Kuroo separates the Grey Matter from the rest of his realm, intent on holding the spirits there in stasis so they can be brought back later. A team of old magic users destroys the Grey Matter, taking with it Saeko, Akiteru, and a number of others, all of which will never come back.

Kei almost breaks his concentration, he removes himself and lets the rest of the keys run their course. He doesn't feel the strain until the link breaks up, all the pertinent keys unlocked. Tiny hands clap onto his cheeks, too warm for comfort. He looks up, Natsu's worried face in his immediate view.

"Are you okay?" she whispers.

Kei just closes his eyes.

His head is little more than a firestorm, and the emotionally charged signatures are intent on stabbing the life out of him through his back. Noise erupts in the form of sobbing, screaming, and pained gasps. Kuroo falls to his knees, head in his hands, whispering apologies to everybody and nobody, while Tanaka sits back, his glazed eyes fixed on the ceiling. Kiyoko has Yachi in her arms, rocking her gently and whispering in her ear. Sugawara holds Daichi's hand hard enough to break it. Moniwa looks sick, having realized just who was in his prison without his knowledge. The demons are in a frenzy, and Terushima's team of shapeshifters isn't much better.

Then the anger rolls in, the demons as its source. Soon enough, they're all yelling at each other.

They're too loud.

Kei holds onto Natsu as he stands up, bleary gaze connecting with Yamaguchi's. He almost stumbles, but soon enough he's resting on his feet.

"Enough!"

"Everyone calm yourselves!"

Ushijima's voice overlaps Oikawa's, but the assembly falls silent immediately.

Kei stumbles over to Kiyoko and Yachi, settling Natsu with them while Ushijima's waves of peace settle over everyone. Then he moves to stand by Yamaguchi.

"There are more pressing matters than old secrets, we can all seek catharsis at another time." Oikawa's leaning against Iwaizumi for support, but it does nothing to diminish his power. "Yuuji? How far away are the advance forces now, and how many do they number?"

Terushima licks his lips, hands twitching as he once again stares out beyond the Palace.

"I imagine they'll be here shortly, the first group is at the base of the mountains, the second has just made it through the Far Forest. I'm counting a couple hundred at the mountains, about one hundred in the forest."

"We need to prepare, quickly, we'll have our hands full with these forces-"

"What about Shouyou?" Kageyama shouts.

Kei takes in the fact that the Palace floor beneath Kageyama's feet is beginning to melt.

"I understand that he's been taken, but we need to deal with these forces first-"

"But? We need to rescue him! He's an idiot! And he can't fight well enough on his own! They're going to kill him!"

"I'm not saying we won't rescue him, Tobio, but protecting the Palace and facing these forces-"

"I'll get him." Kei's mouth shapes the words before he realizes it. He doesn't regret it though. If he's right, and he refuses to be wrong, he's the only one who'll be able to find Shouyou. "Obscurity is within my aspects. They're hiding him, I can find him."

"I'm going with you," Kageyama decides, moving to stand beside him.

Oikawa gives Sugawara a look.

"Kageyama-"

"Me too," Yamaguchi says.

"You three-"

"I'm coming too." It's Kozume that speaks up now, "I'm not being neutral again, not this time."

"Hey!"

The four of them look back to their leaders, Kei won't admit to being startled at Sugawara's shout. Oikawa looks pleased beneath a mask of fatigue and filtered indifference, and Ushijima's looking at them like they're the biggest bunch of idiots he's ever seen.

"We can't spare all four of you, not even to find Shouyou," Sugawara says softly.

"Yes you can," Kei and Kageyama say simultaneously.

"They could kill him," Kei continues, "we have no guarantee that they'll wait until sunrise. I have an idea of how they're hiding him. Oikawa more than makes up for some of us not being here, Iwaizumi compensates the rest, add to that Kozume's sea monsters controlling the ocean, and our absence will not be wholly detrimental. The sooner we find Shouyou, the sooner we'll help with the fighting."

Daichi has his hand on Sugawara's shoulder, and the two share a quiet look. With a nod, Kei and Yamaguchi have permission. Kageyama turns to Iwaizumi and Oikawa, the latter huffs out a sigh and nods, keeping the grin away from his lips.

Kozume needs no such permission from anybody, but he does share a look of his own with Kuroo.

Just like that, everybody disperses.

Nishinoya and Yaku leave with Moniwa and his team to get the Palace locked down, while Oikawa takes his newly reunited team to the Courtyard. Kiyoko and Yachi disappear with Natsu, Ennoshita goes with Sugawara to the Spire, and Daichi leaves with Asahi.

"We'll meet at the Forge," Kageyama says before leaving. Kozume vanishes shortly after.

Bokuto stands with Akaashi, the two silent as nothingness. The World Room is what the main body of the Palace was built around, it's Akaashi's, the mechanisms inside answering only to him. Bokuto has his hands on Akaashi's shoulder, the other at the back of his neck, their foreheads pressed together.

"Be careful," Akaashi whispers, gently tracing the scar running through Bokuto's left eye.

"You too," Bokuto says, moving to press a kiss where metal meets the skin of Akaashi's shoulder.

Kei looks away.

Just across the entryway to the Hall, is a small walkway. As they pass by, a silver door appears, opening as Kei turns to face it. He doesn't keep his armour at his home, and neither does Yamaguchi. They lived at the Palace at one point, and it never forgets a room and its occupant.

Kei's gear is grey, accented in blue, made up of several parts. He pulls on his shin guards first, lacing them quickly while Yamaguchi summons his more bloodthirsty constellations.

"You said you know how they're hiding him," he prompts softly, a monster constellation settling amongst his hair.

"My wings," Kei says simply. He holds his chest plate to his torso and it melds to his body.

"What?"

"I sense them, sometimes. For the longest time I thought I was imagining it, but it makes sense now. Most of my capacity for obscurity was in my wings, if they were whole when they were ripped out, they would have retained that magic, it's not a stretch to assume they could be used to hide Shouyou."

Kei keeps his gaze fixed on his arm guards, avoiding Yamaguchi's concerned eyes.

"If I can track my wings, we'll find him."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

Kei looks up, and remembers Yamaguchi the first time they dressed like this. It was a tad awkward, they lacked the experience and sense of self to fill the armour. But now, dressed in his battle regalia, Yamaguchi is the perfect picture of a collected general. His eyes shine white, lined blue, and he's sans fluttery fabric. His set was a pet project of Kyoutani's, dark blue armour cloth that looks little more than a long tunic with sleeves. It covers everything below his neck, the excess fabric forms a hood, which is currently serving as a place for a star beast. The fabric moves of its own volition in battle, the wide sleeves stretching to protect parts of Yamaguchi's body as he moves. His summoning ring has turned black, and with the arrival of the new star beasts, more rings adorn his fingers.

Kei's guards rest over night black armour cloth, he wears a simple tunic, emblazoned with his crest. He summons Akiteru's war sashes from the empty space and ties them on over his own.

He settles Akiteru's shield at his back.

In silence they make their way to the Forge.

Kageyama is waiting, a broad sword on his back, and Shouyou's staff strapped to his hips. His sash is frayed, but every bit as red and blood heavy as Kei's. He wears no obvious armour, but Kei knows that Kageyama isn't that stupid.

Kozume sits off to the side, gripping the handle of a single butterfly sword, his eyes completely black.

"Where are we going?" he asks, rocking onto his feet.

"To the East," Kei says. All the feelings have come from that direction, and once he focuses on his own signature, he'll be able to divine a more detailed location.

"Suga and Oikawa are divvying up teams. They've already got groups in the North and West for the advance forces, should we handle the East ourselves? In case another force appears?" Kozume asks.

"No, we need to be fast. I'll send a bird and let them know," Kageyama says. He scribbles down the message on one of Sugawara's paper birds and sends it off.

They share no words as they begin walking, their breaths barely audible, and the situation finally sinks in.

They're at war, again, lacking old friends, and on their way to rescue an unofficiated Sun God. Kei doesn't want to think about what could be happening. Shouyou's powerful, sure, but he's unpolished, a few training sessions with Kei and the others won't do him much good.

His chains rattle, one of Yamaguchi's beasts lets out a howl.

It's barely midday, but Kei feels like they're walking down the midnight path to their deaths.

* * *

That was the longest chapter to date, so that's cool! You all are absolutely fantastic! Let me know what you think and, as always, feel free to hop over to the tumblr blog and ask questions and/or yell at me, either one is fine.

Also, I apologize for this chapter being all over the place. I had an outline, but that went out the metaphorical window.


	15. Recollection

It's almost three a.m. and I'm full of water and regret

* * *

Kei hovers unsteadily, Akiteru's holding his hands. They haven't been out long, Kei's wings are just big enough to lift him off the ground, nothing like Akiteru's wings, which are long and dark, perforated with light blue feathers. He's just learning to get the hang of it, and he can't wait until they get big enough that he can fly with the same precision as his brother.

When they'd manifested, Akiteru had refused to touch the ground until Kei appeared, knowing somehow that his wings wouldn't be big enough to offer him a steady descent. Akiteru had carried him down, and they'd met with Ennoshita, Ushijima, and Oikawa, the latter of which had been initially terrifying.

Kei gives a frustrated huff and lets himself touch the ground again. Akiteru lets go of his hands, giving him a concerned once over.

"What's wrong?"

"This is stupid." Kei's not even really angry, but it's easier to pretend that he is. He's more disappointed in himself than anything. Akiteru's barely older him, just because Kei had manifested later, amongst the night sky and under the light of the stars. Now he's got tiny wings and the inability to fly and he _hates_ it.

"It takes time," Akiteru says. His tone just barely touches pity, and Kei's just glad he hasn't knelt down to be on eye level, that would just be condescending.

Kei cross his arms over his chest and pouts, though he'll deny that bit if anyone asks later. He just wants to fly, fly like his brother.

Is that too much to ask?

"How about we take a break for a little? We can go sit in Kiyoko's garden, then we'll try again."

"No," Kei says stubbornly. He doesn't want to take a break, that's admitting defeat.

Akiteru just smiles.

They keep practicing, they sky goes from a clear blue to a watery mess of purple and red as the sun goes down. Kei gets himself hovering, trying to match the steady beat of Akiteru's wings as he keeps the two of them farther off the ground than before.

Kei's eyes are screwed shut in concentration, his jaw clenched so that his teeth grind together.

"Kei, stop focusing so hard, you just have to feel it." Akiteru's voice sounds far away, but Kei takes the words to heart, he can trust his brother.

Slowly, he relaxes his body, tries to clear his mind. It's not easy, so he decides to direct his focus to other things; his brother, his wings, the slightly breeze that they stir up. When he feels confident that he won't plummet the short distance to the ground, he opens his eyes.

"Akiteru, let go, I think I can do it myself," he says, shaking off his brother's hands. He manages to hover on his own for a short bit before he shoots straight up.

Kei doesn't recognize the laugh that bubbles from his lips, he's more focused on the wind against his face and the fact that he's actually flying. He extends his wings out so he gently drifts down. Akiteru rises up to join him.

"I'm so proud of you, Kei!"

When they touch the ground, Akiteru ruffles his hair, a bright grin on his lips.

Kei pretends he's annoyed with Akiteru's hug, but he gives in and hugs back after a moment.

* * *

It doesn't take very long for Kei to tune into his own signature. His wings are calling for him, and they blind him momentarily. They're farther away than he thought they would be, and he has mixed feelings about the fact that they're in near perfect condition, still retaining their magic.

If he focuses hard enough, he's pretty sure he can make out their shape.

Kei pauses, just barely keeping himself from stumbling. Yamaguchi notices though. Before he can say anything, Kozume speaks up.

"Shouyou will be okay though, right? They won't kill him?"

"They're ruthless, and unpredictable," Kageyama says.

He never has had any tact.

Kozume looks ready to panic, so Yamaguchi cuts in before he goes into a full blown meltdown.

"How'd you meet Shouyou?"

"Huh?"

"How'd you meet him? I met him at the Palace, I had to talk with Suga, and Nishinoya told me they'd found the new Sun God. I came back the next day, and he was sitting with Kageyama in the Hall."

"Oh, I met him on one of the river fronts. He'd gotten lost exploring so I helped him back to the Palace."

Kageyama joins Kei at the front, letting Yamaguchi and Kozume talk to each other in peace.

"You're sure?" he asks, hands shaking.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

Kageyama nods, making a noise of agreement but he doesn't say anything, just keeps one hand on Shouyou's weapon.

Kei can't imagine how long it took to make the staff. Sunfire is hard enough to handle; it's aggressive, temperamental, all too willing to blow up at a moment's notice, but Light is a different story. It's stubborn, fluid and evasive to the point of frustration, unwilling to bend to another's will. Shouyou's staff is almost entirely made of Light, though Kei is sure Kageyama has included other elements. It matches Shouyou's potential, it's fitting.

"We'll get him," Kei finds himself saying, "He's of no use to them if he's dead."

"I know that. But he's an idiot, and-"

Kei waits for Kageyama to collect himself.

"It's my fault."

"What do you mean?"

If anything, it's Kei's fault. He could have walked Shouyou back to the Palace, or had him stay the night. But he didn't.

"I encouraged him to go talk to you. I didn't think he'd go immediately, I shouldn't have- I should have waited, or gone with him, _something_."

"You didn't know this was going to happen-"

"Did you?"

Kei refuses to let himself still, he forces himself to keep walking.

He didn't know they would take Shouyou. He knew something would happen, but he never could have guessed that they would go to such measures. He can see Kageyama would be suspicious though. Kei's the secret holder, the keeper of keys. He knows who bleeds, who cries, and who kills. If there was indication that Shouyou would be the one with that information.

But he hadn't known, it's as simple as that.

He should have, an unofficiated god is the most tempting bait imaginable. The death of an unofficiated god by old magic is a surefire way to destroy the reincarnation for that god. If Shouyou dies, he's gone forever. His aspects will be distributed of course, but there will never be another Sun God.

"No, I didn't know," he says.

Kageyama nods and they fall silent.

Kei turns his focus to his wings, attempting to see if he can negate some of their magic to reveal Shouyou's signatures.

He fails, he's too far away.

He's been without his wings for lifetimes, and though he has mornings in which he can feel them perfectly, sensing them this way makes them seem foreign. They're his, but they don't feel like it as much.

What is he going to do when they get Shouyou? If all goes according to plan, he's going to kill the monster, they'll make sure Shouyou is okay, and then what? Kei's wings will just be there. There's a chance, if they're as whole and pristine as they feel, that Daichi could graft them into Kie's back once more. He'll be in a healing sleep for a while, but he'll have his wings when he wakes. Wings don't grow back, but no one's ever had wings reattached.

To feel the wind on his face, to fly through the clouds, looking over the realm from so high up, Kei would do almost anything to have that once more.

He can't think about that right now though. What matters is saving Shouyou.

* * *

Swords aren't doing anything for him, he doesn't like the way they sit in his hands, and they're too rigid for his brand of magic to flow through. Spears are a little better but they don't feel right, something about not being able to always have it in his hands. War hammers, axes, and other bulky weapons aren't even worth trying. He could just use magic, he's powerful enough to not need a weapon.

Akiteru's a hypocrite, telling Kei he should learn a weapon when he doesn't even have one himself. Kei had been unable to participate in the first war, one of the downsides to being unofficiated. He and a few others had stayed close to the Stronghold, before it was destroyed, unable to do much more than help Daichi in the infirmary, and keep tabs on sensitive aspects. All of their fighters used magic because their Weaponsmith was incapacitated in a healing coma.

During the building of the Palace, the idea that everyone should have a specialized weapon had been broached.

Kei gives up for the day, flying up to the open window at the top of the Spire. His magic will be suitable for a long while, and with his wings, he'll be more than fine. It worked for Akiteru, it can work for Kei.

From the window, he can see the training fields, can make out the signatures of the younger gods as they practice the form of their newly chosen weapons. Yamaguchi had chosen a spear, and he was wielding it well, even if he was unsure in his movement. They're just practice weapons, Kageyama is holed up at the Forge, Sugawara having finally tasked him with making the specialized weaponry that was apparently so necessary in the first war. Kei had seen a beacon of undiluted glee in Kageyama's eyes at the prospect of heading this new project.

He's skilled, Kei will admit to that much, it's incredibly impressive.

He remembers meeting Kageyama prior to this day, before either of them had come into their aspects or received their titles. Kageyama was part of the Demon King's team, though he does look somewhat apart from the rest of them, more like a god than anything else. Oikawa had requested that Sugawara help teach him, so Kageyama joined Kei, Yamaguchi, and the others in training.

Now though, he runs the Forge, and creates beautiful weapons. He'd made Sugawara a pair of truth divining long wires as a thank you gift.

Kageyama is first incarnation, all demons are, so his title is different from the norm. It's passed down, no incarnation, his soul is his own.

Kei's a little jealous. He's a first incarnation himself, but he doesn't like the idea of some other being getting his soul and coming back as the new Moon God if he dies.

It's unsettling.

* * *

Yamaguchi's spear goes flying past him, and Kei has his chains out in the time it takes to blink.

He stretches his arms out in front of him, the chains shooting forward in a blur. One of them wraps around a monster, looping around its neck before flinging it into the air. He uses his right hand for defense, and his left for offense, splitting his chains as necessary.

Kenma's more than out of his element on dry land, but he handles his blade well enough, so Kei isn't too concerned.

Kageyama holds Kei's attention for a split second. He's smoldering, eyes alight as they begin to glow. He moves forward, little more than a blur, Kei can barely make out the whisper of his blade through monster bodies.

Between the four of them, the force of monsters is neutralized fairy quickly. There's blood saturating the ground, and carcasses, and Kenma doubles over to heave. Nothing but water comes out, and the clouds in the sky seem to waver.

Kageyama is stony as he stares at the barely breathing monster beneath him. Yamaguchi has a vice grip on his spear, his star beasts chittering angrily about him. Slowly, Kei draws his chains back from where they ay, strewn about the surrounding trees and rocks. They slither back, Kei doesn't bother to speed up the process, just watches as the blood drips off the links as they return to bracelet form.

"Is everyone okay?" Yamaguchi asks, shattering the heady silence that had settled over them as soon as the last monster was incapacitated.

Kenma mumbles an affirmative, Kei nods, and Kageyama says nothing.

Kei takes the few steps to stand by him and puts a hand between his shoulders.

"It's a foot soldier, none of them will know anything. We need to go."

Kageyama crushes the monster's throat without a heartbeat of hesitation. He stands up and Kei takes the time to search his eyes. There's always a chance that Kageyama could slip, there have been instances of Demons losing themselves in the past, and though Kageyama isn't entirely a demon, there's a possibility.

He's okay for now though.

Kenma has a small cut on his left forearm, but it's not horrible. Some of his sea plants sprout up from his skin to wrap the wound, and he assures Yamaguchi that he'll be okay.

Then, as though they aren't surrounded by corpses, they continue walking.

Yamaguchi moves up to walk beside him, holding his star beast in his arms.

"Kei?"

"Hmm?"

"If we come across a bigger force…"

"It won't come to that."

"But if it does?"

Kei doesn't want to answer. Yamaguchi's not just talking about their mission to get Shouyou. Following that, they will be at war, they'll face legions. He doesn't enjoy being the force that keeps Yamaguchi from killing their friends. That responsibility is something he wishes he didn't hold. But he does, and he hates seeing Yamaguchi being overtaken by some long dead beast whose only instincts are to kill anything in sight.

The first Constellation God hadn't had such an ability, there was never a need for him. But aspects are finicky things, abilities manifest for all sorts of reasons. Yamaguchi had been unable to fight in the first war, just like Kei, and he manifested a new ability during his officiation. A lack of raw power, of undiluted strength, had been lacking in the first war, so Yamaguchi gained his ability of constellation possession.

The first time it happened was during training, some of the older gods had wanted to see what this new power could do, and nobody, not even Yamaguchi, had thought of the possibilities. Their oracle was dead at this point, they had no way of knowing.

Akaashi had to trap him in a time field while Oikawa and Sugawara worked together to find a way to dissipate the beast. It was Tendou, strangely enough, who suggested cutting off Yamaguchi's magic. There was no obvious tether between Yamaguchi and the constellation, so they had to wrap him completely in their magic.

Yamaguchi's room had been the infirmary for a while, recovering from the ordeal, his mind partially corrupted by the constellation he'd summoned. Daichi had him in a healing coma the second his eyes changed. Now, Yamaguchi is particular when he chooses a monster for possession, he's never even thought about touching that first one again.

"I will."

* * *

It's been some time since Kei's touched the ground.

He's been riding winds, gliding amongst the clouds for a few night cycles by now. He was born of the sky, why shouldn't he feel at home?

Akiteru worries, Kei knows that his older brother has some sort of misplaced concern. Kei doesn't really get along with the others. His circle of interaction is ridiculously small. He doesn't see the problem that Akiteru sees.

Kei slows to a leisurely glide, touching down on the edge of a tree branch. Everything's been fairly quiet as of late.

The sun is going down, night slowly covering the sky. He watches the stars appear, one by one.

He's about to take off again when a flash of light erupts in the sky. Everything seems to ripple as white hot light fires off in every direction. It's almost as bright as day time now. He doesn't think anything of it until a signature appears.

It's shaky, a white shimmer overlaying a sharp undercurrent of brightness that's very nearly painful. The signature is reminiscent of the old Constellation God, but it's different. It's not incredibly powerful, but Kei can sense the potential.

He pushes off, willing his wings to work faster.

This is a manifestation.

Kei lands on the ground directly beneath where the light erupted, looking around.

"Hello?" he calls.

There's no answer, so he tunes in to the signature again. He sees the stars before the signature becomes clear.

This new god looks as young as Kei does. His face is smattered with stars, all glowing in the dim around around them. They cover his shoulders too, and all visible skin that Kei can make out. He's dressed simply, a hooded tunic, blue and white, with a sash as black as the night around his waist. In his arms is some sort of creature. Kei's not sure what to make of it, only that it's not entirely tangible, and it looks to be made of stars.

This child is definitely the new Constellation God. Their old one, Shimada had vanished a short while back, and the oracle had yet to report his reincarnation.

"I'm Tsukishima Kei, I'm the Moon God," he says. The words sound silly coming from his mouth. He's not come into all of his aspects, hasn't been officiated yet. But it's the only thing he can think to say.

The god looks at him, caution in his eyes.

"Y-Yamaguchi Tadashi. I'm the Constellation God, I think."

"You think?"

Yamaguchi just nods.

"Okay. Follow me, I'll take you to the Stronghold."

"The Stronghold?"

Yamaguchi doesn't even hesitate to follow once Kei starts walking.

"Yes, that's where we all live. Well, some of us."

"More gods?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

They walk in silence for a little while until Kei can't keep his question to himself.

"What is that?" he asks, pointing to the creature in Yamaguchi's arms.

Yamaguchi looks down, seemingly surprised by the fact that he is in fact holding something. He doesn't answer for a few moments, likely running his thoughts together.

They can be scattered upon manifesting, Kei's were a little, his first attempts to string together any sort of sentence was abysmal.

"She's a star beast," he says softly.

"A star beast?" Shimada never had one, Kei's never heard of them existing.

"Yes, I- She was one of the first constellations in the night sky, she's been here since creation."

It doesn't really answer Kei's question but it's good enough.

"Can you fly? We'll get there faster if you can."

Yamaguchi has no visible wings, but there are a few gods who don't need wings to fly.

"I can."

* * *

The signature flickers out as soon as they pass the river, and Kei goes numb. He feels far too cold. Panicked, he tries to draw in a breath, but he chokes. It takes a moment but he realizes it's not just his signature that's gone, everyone else's is too.

If it's a trap, I means they're getting close. Old magic can be used to create a null field around an area, but that means the monster had intentionally used Kei's wings as a means to draw him here. Now, they'll have to split up and find Shouyou. Smaller numbers, Kei unable to sense the others, and a monster waiting to kill him.

If they get through this without issue, it'll be a miracle.

"Tsukishima?" Kageyama's voice filters through Kei's panic, effectively snapping him back.

"I can't sense them anymore, my wings, we're in a voided space," he says, his voice sounding hollow.

"Wait, if we're in a voided space, then why did they-" Kenma cuts himself off, unwilling to mention Kei's wings.

"To draw us here."

'Us,' he says, 'me,' he means.

Kei hasn't exactly shared that little piece of information with the rest of them. That this is just as much a grudge match as it is a rescue mission.

"So it's a means to split us up," Kageyama says, drawing his weapon.

"Yes."

"Where was the signal last?"

Kei points.

"That general direction, it's not as precise as you might think, it jumps occasionally."

Kageyama draws in a deep breath.

Before he can say anything, Kenma lets out a shout. A wave of water from the river crashes past them, wiping out a few levels of monster soldiers who've encircled them.

That's another thing Kei hates about voided spaces.

It's impossible to sense enemies.

"Kei, you and Kageyama go find Shouyou, Kenma and I can handle the monsters."

"Yamaguchi-"

"Go," Kenma says, a wall of ice weaving between the trees to block out most of the monsters as Yamaguchi's spear shoots through the air, opening up a path large enough for Kei and Kageyama.

"Tsukishima, let's go."

Kei wants to, he really does. But if he leaves, and something happens to Yamaguchi, just like something happened to his brother...

He'd never be able to forgive himself.

Yamaguchi takes matters into his own hands and shoves Kei through the opening just as Kenma lets down a part of his barrier. Just before he passes through, Kei throws Akiteru's shield to Yamaguchi.

He doesn't have time to reflect on his involuntary action because there are still monsters to deal with on the other side of the ice.

* * *

There are monsters everywhere, they're practically swarming. He's doing what he can, his chains extended all around him, over twenty on each hand.

Yamaguchi lets out a shout for his attention. Kei braces for the impact of the magic wave. It comes a split second later, as white hot as the stars and Kei uses his wings to shield him from the brunt of the wave. The constellation that Yamaguchi has chosen is dragonesque in figure, massive to the point that Kei can only make out the vaguest outline of Yamaguchi's body within it.

In the time it takes to draw a breath, the dragon has sprung into action. It stomps down the monsters, flinging others into the air and striking them back down into the ground. There's no soft snow to cushion their fall, Yamaguchi's possession melted whatever snow was in the immediate vicinity.

Kageyama is still busy with the brute, so Kei takes care of any of the monsters that escape the dragon's attention.

Seeing Yamaguchi like this isn't easy, what's even worse is what comes after.

The dragon turns its head towards Kageyama, and Kei shoots out a chain. It loops around Kageyama's waist, pulling him away as the dragon is about to descend on him. It crashes into the monster, letting out a growl that sounds more like a wet, garbled, grumble than anything else.

Kageyama lands more or less on his feet and they catch their unnecessary breath while Yamaguchi's constellation finishes the brute.

As soon as the monster dies, Kei extends his arms, hands raised towards the dragon. He exhales slowly, even as the dragon starts charging, gathering his magic up. Once it's tangible, it wraps around the dragon, stopping it in its tracks.

Kei's entire body shakes with the effort to restrain the dragon, but he manages to get a strand of magic through it, to Yamaguchi.

As his magic is cut off, the dragon vanishes, and Yamaguchi drops.

* * *

They don't bother trying to fight all the monsters. Kei runs in the direction of his wings, Kageyama follows.

Kei knows, this close to their destination, these monsters were likely given explicit instructions not to kill him, it's a personal affair. They're operating on another mission then, the only thought on their mind is getting to the Palace. That was the goal during the war, that's why some many of their defense aspect gods were there to protect it.

The Palace is more than just a building to live in. Akaashi's World Room is there, Sugawara's table, the Maps, Yahaba's plotted portals, the infirmary. Their history is on the walls, their magic in the foundation. It remembers them, it can recognize them, it emits feeling. When Shouyou said it felt heavy, that wasn't nonsense. Their very being is tied to the Palace now.

Kei knows the vast majority of the other gods are still there. Akaashi's holed up in his World Room, working to counteract the negative that arise when so many gods are active but not working towards their duties. Nishinoya, Yaku, Moniwa and his team, and the other Gods of Defense are channeling more magic into the Palace barrier, while the demons are likely finishing up their war rituals. They should be splitting up into teams at this point.

Daichi will be fighting on the forefront, Yahaba at his side, until someone gets hurt. Once that happens, Yahaba will open a portal to the edge of the Palace barrier just long enough for Daichi to slip through. He'll remain at the Palace until the war is over.

This one won't be like the last.

The last war ended because the monsters wanted Oikawa dead. Now, they're just angry about being deceived, there will be no meeting of resolution this time.

Their adversity with the monsters traces back to the demons. Oikawa's predecessor killed the leader of the monsters for reasons that Kei is still in the dark about. Before the monsters could exact their revenge, the Demon King had died, leaving Oikawa to take his place. Their sights shifted there, despite the fact that Oikawa had absolutely nothing to do with the death of the monsters' leader. So when the last war was at its climax, Sugawara held a secret meeting with the new leader of the monsters. The deal was, if the gods killed Oikawa, the monsters would keep to themselves.

Sugawara was in a rough situation. Nymphs were being slaughtered, gods were dying, those who weren't were laid up in the infirmary, Iwaizumi had been in a healing coma at that point as well. If the monsters didn't get what they wanted, they'd exploit Oikawa's weakness for his team, kill them one by one until Oikawa gave himself up. So Sugawara agreed.

With the help of Yahaba and Kunimi, they secured a room in the prison, and Yahaba used a series of split second portal jumps to grab Oikawa, and Kunimi put him to sleep. They had to keep him under far enough that his signature would appear non existent. The monsters kept up their end of the bargain and retreated.

That will not be the case this time.

* * *

It's been a bit, I apologize for that! In any case, I'm updating because yukine-the-yukibae on tumblr drew some art for this story and I wanted to update as a thank you. It's amazing.

If you thought I could write a story where there isn't a chapter devoted entirely to flashbacks then you're wrong, I'm sorry, I have a thing for flashbacks.

I've got a few more chapters planned, I ended up straying from my outline so I'm not sure just how many.

Also, for anyone who doesn't know, there is a link to a google doc on the wire-pudding blog that has some basic world information about this story. I recently added some new info. If you've got questions about world specifics, you can ask on the blog and I'll let you know, then add a more in depth explanation on the document. As always, feel free to ask questions, yell, or generally interact. Thank you all so much for sticking with this story and for all your kind words thus far!


	16. Flying to Falling

I am the absolute worst. I apologize for the delay everybody, school is stressing me out and I've got exam prep coming up. There's an info update posted on the tumblr blog from a few days ago if you want to check that out, it'll give you an idea about what's going on.

Oh, just a minor warning for a bit of violence in this chapter, and also depictions of blood.

* * *

 _There._

Kei feels a sharp pulse as his wings reveal themselves. It's not the same feeling as before, he's not just sensing his signature, these are his _wings_.

Clear as the sun in the sky, and cold as the night. For just a heartbeat, he can feel each individual feather.

They're gone.

It's only a moment, barely the time it takes to blink, but he locks on their location and starts running without warning. He can't sense them anymore, but he remembers the exact location they appeared. Kageyama follows without hesitating.

His chains are out, rattling and thrumming with energy before he can stop them. They don't have a plan, a plan would very likely be helpful.

So Kei slows until he's still. They're close, they can spare a moment or two to at least come up with the barest guide for their actions.

Still, there's that nagging voice reminding him that every second he's not moving is another second that Shouyou's in danger.

"Tsukishima! What are you doing?"

"What are we going to do when we get there? We have no idea if the monster is alone or if it has footsoldiers with it. We need a plan."

Kageyama takes a breath, Kei can practically see his body lose tension.

"You're right," he admits, though it seems a little forced.

Kei recalls his chains, and Kageyama loosens his white knuckled grip on his weapon. They don't stop for good, they walk slowly, discussing what all is possible for them to do. It's Kei's magic, Kei's wings, that are shielding Shouyou, in all likelihood they're probably cutting off his magic as well. Rather, the monster is using Kei's wings as a barrier in addition to its own magic, the latter of which is cancelling Shouyou's ability to use his own magic. So, the first step is to remove his wings from the picture, cut them off from the monster's controls. Kageyama can take Shouyou from there. If he's hurt, it'll be Kageyama's job to get him out, and Kei's to deal with the monster.

"Why?" Kageyama asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Why is this monster so important to you? Is it because of your wings?"

Kei sighs, one hand coming up to rub the back of his neck.

"This is the monster that ripped my wings from my back, it's not going to be another, this one kept my wings as a trophy. It wants another fight, otherwise it wouldn't use them."

"So this has nothing to do with Shouyou?"

"He was just a victim of opportunity, an unofficiated major god."

Kageyama is quiet for a little while.

"If Shouyou is uninjured-"

"Then have him fly out and get Yamaguchi and Kenma. If they're still fighting, help them. If the monster has no footsoldiers with it, and those two are okay, go help the others."

"Tsukishima-"

"I'm not asking, Kageyama. It will be better for everyone if you're helping the actual fight. Shouyou needs to be at the Palace, he'll be safe there, we can't risk him being in danger."

Kageyama knows he's right, and if it were under any other circumstances, Kei would be smiling, but it's not, so he doesn't. They really can't risk Shouyou. He's unofficiated.

"Fine. But if there are footsoldiers, then I'm staying. You can have it out with the monster, I'll make sure you won't have to watch your back."

It's a poor choice of words, and Kageyama doesn't seem to realize he's said them. Kei's not really bothered, just a little ruffled. Not watching his back is exactly what cost him his wings in the first place.

"Just handle it as fast as you can, then go make sure Yamaguchi and Kenma are all right."

With their ridiculously simple plan established, they begin running once again.

They slow to a stop as a cave comes into view. The only good thing about a voided space is that the monster can't sense them either.

Kei takes a breath to calm himself, letting the useless air rush out of him as he calls his chains out. They're angry, whipping about in a silent frenzy. He summons his magic, enough to render the both of them invisible.

It's nearly silent, which eliminates the thought of footsoldiers, there would be shuffling otherwise, so Kei lays a hand on the stone wall, peeking slowly around to see inside.

They're just as glorious as he remembers.

Grey white feathers, some as long as Kei's arms, others span only from his fingertip to palm. The edges are tipped blue, glowing lightly in the dim of the cave. They rustle, flutter, restless as they hang suspended by magic they don't belong to. His smaller set cradles Shouyou, the blue feathers a sharp contrast to the glowing red around him, while their white tips match the molten glow of Shouyou's skin.

And, oh, Shouyou.

His body is suspended in a layer of grey magic, but it looks as though his actual weight is supported by Kei's wings. He doesn't look too terribly injured, but there are markings on his skin that were certainly not there when he came to see Kei. The longer Kei looks, however, the more he sees.

There's blood smearing Shouyou's robes, and some tainting his hair. His wings are drawn into his back, his eyes squeezed shut, and his whole body is shaking. His hands are twisted into the smaller feathers, squeezing tight but it doesn't look like any of them have been pulled out. Tears track through streaks of dirt on his cheeks, his teeth are chattering, and Kei feels his heart break.

His eyes drift past Shouyou, as hard as it is, and settle on the back of the cave.

The monster is just as Kei remembers

It stands nearly twice as tall as Kei, its translucent skin sickly in the dim light of the cave. Unlike most of the monster soldiers, this one has four eyes, all just as empty black and shining as the others though. Its mouth is split wide, in a grotesque fashion that makes Kei's skin crawl. Wiry and long limbed, the monster is dressed in a simple black tunic and a grey robe. Silvery hair hangs in a series of plaited braids, some coming loose, and a simple leather band encircles the monster's head, decorated with shining stones the color of monster blood. In its hand, a long blade, curved, and forked at the end.

Kei wants to see his chains cut through the monster's body until it's nothing more than a pile of bloodied limbs.

He takes a step forward, but Kageyama grabs his wrist to hold him back.

"You're just going to walk in there?" he whispers, so low that Kei has to strain to hear.

"Yes."

And he does.

* * *

"You know," Akiteru starts conversationally, "I doubt anyone will think different if you-"

"I don't care what the others think of me."

Kei scowls as Akiteru laughs.

"Of course you don't. But, if you did-"

With a huff, Kei flaps his wings, shooting into the sky faster than his brother can process. Luckily, he doesn't follow, but Kei knows he's looking after with that dumb smile on his face.

He settles in Kiyoko's garden, leaning against the hedges, drawing in his wings.

No matter what his brother says, Kei refuses to believe him. Gods have agendas, they have opinions, and Kei has an image. The Moon God is selfless, the Moon God takes on the burdens of others, bears the weight and all the nightmares that come with secret keeping. He doesn't regret his title, really. But the Moon God doesn't do things just for himself, at least, that's how Kei's interpreted his position.

The Moon God doesn't need friends either, shouldn't have friends really. Friends tell each other secrets, Kei can't do that.

With a sigh, Kei closes his eyes, tucking his knees up so he can curl into a ball.

He'd brought the new Constellation God to the Stronghold only a few days ago, and he'd not spoken with him since.

Kei's not sure what he should do. Akiteru has friends, he spends time with Saeko, and he used to hang around Takeda and Ukai. Everyone else has friends, but Kei has kept to himself.

He has a few secrets, old ones from long before his manifestation. Knowing them, he's not sure if he really wants to have a friend. Gods are capable of terrible things, that's what he's learned from those secrets.

The Moon God isn't supposed to have friends. The Moon God isn't supposed to get attached.

* * *

Kei is very much attached.

With a single minded line of actions, he removes his glamour and steps dead center into the opening of the cave. He chains extend, striking the ground with a series of sharp cracks that then become fissures in the ground.

"You arrived much faster than I thought you would."

The monster's voice is low, gravelly, it sounds as old as it is. It rolls off the walls, drips from the ceiling and splashes to the ground. It's a voice that's skulked across the landscape of Kei's nightmares for the past few lifetimes.

"And you've brought a friend."

Kageyama steps up beside him, steely eyed and ringed in a haze of yellow grey magic. Kei summons his own battle magic, watching as the monster's eyes follow the formation of his wings. His chains crack again, a sound reminiscent to the whips that Kiyoko used to use, but these are clearer, sharper, colder.

Kei fixes his eyes on the monster.

"Kei! Tobio!"

Shouyou's finally noticed them, as he moves, a wash of blood settles over the cave and Kei wrinkles his nose reflexively. It's not the amount, Shouyou doesn't appear to be bleeding heavily, it just smells heady and unpleasant at the same time.

"By all means, if you can get to your little friend, you can take him, he's not the one I'm interested in."

Kei's magic swells in the presence of his wings, turns colder as he searches for the tether keeping Shouyou locked up. The voided field is making it difficult but he finds it after a few moments. Kageyama's getting antsy, Kei can practically feel the energy rolling off of him.

The tether is anchored at Shouyou's back, where his wings would be if they were out, and Kei doesn't spare a sliver of concentration on anything else. He takes a breath and makes himself trust that Kageyama will act as his defense while he does this.

He's not sure if the monster will attempt to attack him, or if it will watch and wait for Kei to finish. Either situation is unsavory, as much as Kei wants to fight the monster, he can't exactly do that in a cramped cave, and the monster isn't stupid enough to leave. Shouyou's injured too, which means Kageyama has to take him back to the Palace.

It will just be the monster and Kei.

His magic pools at his fingertips, becoming tangible and thin.

"Shouyou," he says, "I'm sorry, but this might hurt."

"It's okay," Shouyou says softly .He squeezes his eyes shut as Kei's magic touches the skin of his back. He whimpers lightly, and Kei feels a spike in Kageyama's rage, and he feels just a bit guilty.

But it's necessary.

Slowly, Kei's magic breaches alongside the monster's.

The magic behind drawing in wings is strange. They're too large to legitimately exist within a body, yet they do. Kei's magic twists along, searching for the end of the monster's tether. It's wrapped all around Shouyou's wings, squeezing, and Kei can feel his own rage growing.

The further along he presses, the farther he feels himself fading.

Shouyou's wings are sweltering. Feeling the end feathers brush up against his arm was one thing, but it's as though Kei's whole body is wrapped up in flames. This heat would be nothing for Kageyama, but Kei's the one has to do it. It's not like it's pleasant for Shouyou either, Kei's magic is colder than comprehensible, and it's winding into his body.

Shouyou.

He's doing this for Shouyou.

Kei takes another breath and does his best to block out the heat. Faintly, he hears a clang, he's not sure what it is, but his magic almost flickers at the distraction. Kei takes a breath, the unnecessary action serves to calm him, most likely by placebo than anything.

Eventually, he reaches the very base of Shouyou's wings, his own thread of magic choking the monster's until it vanishes.

The grey film encasing Shouyou vanishes, and he drops. Kageyama lurches forward, catching him and holding him tight. Kei sways where he stands, the slightest bit shaky. He still feels too hot, and his vision is starting to get a little fuzzy.

The monster hasn't moved from its spot at the back of the cave, but Kei still doesn't want to take his eyes off of it. A rush of heat sweeps through the cave as Shouyou's wings burst from his back.

Immediately, Kei steps in front of Shouyou and Kageyama, battle magic rushing back as he acts as a barrier between them and the monster. He's not letting this creature take Shouyou's wings too.

But the monster doesn't move, just watches with removed interest, not speaking a word. It doesn't look like it will be moving anytime soon, its body is too relaxed, but Kei's not about to underestimate it.

"Kei," Shouyou rasps.

"Hold him, I'll watch," Kageyama says, letting Shouyou out of his arms as he stands up.

"Kageyama-"

"I'll take him back, just hold him a moment." Kageyama's weapon divides up, thousands of knives, all with their points aimed at the monster. He squares his stance, magic flaring as Kei's dies down.

Shouyou's wings are folded against his back now, and Kei's eyes are fixed on the slow trickle of blood from his forehead.

"I remembered what you taught me," Shouyou says, wrapping his arms around Kei's neck.

"What?"

"You said it didn't matter how powerful my opponent was, I'd always be able to cancel their magic. I did it, with your wings. It was for a second, but I cancelled the voided area. That's how you found me, right?"

Kei blinks slowly. He hugs Shouyou tighter, uncaring that Shouyou's skin is searing faint red marks into his.

"Are you proud?" Shouyou asks.

Kei misses the oracle.

He'd never gotten the courage to ask a question, he'd heard that most of them went unanswered anyways. But he remembers the oracle smiling at him, patting his head before saying that his future was full of nothing but light, and it was wrapped in warmth. He'd wanted to press, to clarify. Warm? Nothing about Kei was warm, he was the Moon God, his place was in the night. The only light in his life came from his moons, but he'd always known that the oracle meant something else. He spent lifetimes agonizing over those few words.

He'd never gotten to ask, the oracle died in the first war, and hasn't been reincarnated.

Kneeling here, Kei is certain that the oracle was talking about Shouyou.

"I'm so proud," he whispers, turning to press a kiss to Shouyou's hair. He doesn't want to let go just yet, he really doesn't.

"I'm glad," Shouyou says, returning the gesture. He moves to press their foreheads together, and Kei bites back the grimace when he feels some of Shouyou's blood. Slowly, he rubs circles into the tops of Shouyou's hands.

"Kageyama is going to take you to the Palace, and-"

"What about you?" Shouyou pulls back, hands cupping Kei's face. The look Kei finds there says that Shouyou can read his fatigue, that he's worried. That doesn't matter though. Shouyou's more important, he needs to get back to the Palace, where he'll be safe behind their guardians and the many layers of defensive magic encircling them.

Shouyou isn't expendable, the Sun God isn't a loss that will be felt lightly, not just to Kei and Kageyama. Unofficiated, Shouyou won't be coming back, there will be no more Sun God.

Kei is expendable though, truly. The Moon God, officiated, no fractures, all of his original aspects intact, he'll come back. It will be as someone else, but should he die, the Moon God will continue to exist. And while he certainly doesn't want to die, speaking from a strategic standpoint, he's an acceptable loss.

Not like he intends to lose to this monster though.

Kei shakes his head, standing up, taking Shouyou with him.

"Kei! Kei, wait."

Wordlessly, Kei hands Shouyou over to Kageyama.

"Tobio! We can't just leave him here!"

Kei can feel his panic, his concern. It's touching, really, he wants to smile. But the monster has been waiting, and Kei can still feel Shouyou's blood on his skin.

"Kei, no-"

"He'll be okay, Shouyou, I promise."

That's the last thing Kei hears before they go.

With them gone, the monster rises to its feet.

* * *

Kei can't remember the last time he was actually on the ground, he knows it's been a while though. His wings beat steady against the still air as he makes his way to the beachfront. He hasn't seen his team, or anyone else for the matter, in some time, but he'd picked up on a few signatures from this direction.

He almost drops, his wings halting for a split second, when those signatures vanish abruptly. Speeding up, Kei arrives at the water, but there are no gods, no bodies.

Kei's more willing to accept that his sense is off, rather than think that he'd arrived too late.

Touching down on the sand, Kei looks around, anxious and tightly wound. A small wave crashes at his feet, washing away a thin layer of blood. There's no evidence that anyone had been here.

"Damn it."

With a short breath, Kei shoots back up into the air, hovering a moment to scan further down the beach.

If there were bodies, they're in the water, claimed and drowned. He'll have to ask Kenma to return the bodies when this is over.

Where's the monster that killed them?

As he's about to fly back inland, Kei finds himself tumbling through the air, a sharp pain at his left side. He takes a heartbeat to glance at his wound, forcing himself not to panic at the amount of blood dripping from the wound.

Quickly, he rights himself, spinning around to see what had attacked him.

A monster, wingless, dressed in jet black battle garb with a helmet obscuring its face. Kei imagines that its flight is something similar to Yamaguchi's, but there's no glow to indicate magic use. Now isn't really the time to think about that though.

Kei strikes quickly, the chains of his right hand landing solidly against the juncture of the monster's neck and shoulder. Unable to see its face, Kei doesn't know if the attack did anything.

The monster has a sword, and Kei sees it coming down in an arch. As his wings fold in front of him for the split second of contact before unfurling and propelling him higher into the sky. This is his domain, he refuses to lose here.

His battle magic flares, outlining his body and running the length of his wings to cover them as well before racing down the chains.

The next time the sword flashes, Kei uses his chains to stop it. He yanks hard, and the sword falls to the sand. The monster doesn't seem remotely bothered by the fact that it is now without a weapon. Instead, it comes for Kei, a clawed hand outstretched, magic crackling at its fingers.

Kei doesn't want to risk baring his wings to his monster, so he throws his hands out, magic bursting out. A short barrage of dark blue magic flies forward, headed for the monster.

They go right through it.

Stunned, Kei doesn't have enough time to react as the monster's hand clamps down around his neck. In turn, Kei uses his chains. This make contact, but don't seem to bother the monster.

Kei's wings are struggling, trying to counteract the monster's added weight, he's just barely staying in the air.

"That's enough!"

Drawing on his blessing, Kei lets out a wave of magic. It's just brunt force, magic translated into tangible energy. The wave manages to blow off the monster's helmet. Revealing a tumble of silver hair and four empty, black eyes, devoid of any emotion.

Despite having loosened a little bit, the hand around his neck is beginning to burn, Kei puts his focus towards manipulating his chains. Half of them are pushing at the monster, the others are striking through the armor, systematically attacking the small cracks that had developed over the course of their fight.

One finally breaks through and a gush of blood drips into the water below them.

Kei's a long distance fighter, and this monster isn't greatly affected by any of his attacks.

"You'll be very useful to me, I must thank you at a later time."

Kei doesn't have time to question the monster's words before he starts screaming.

The monster's hand is on the back of his neck now, its free hand curled at the base of Kei's wings. He tries to move but the monster pulls hard at Kei's right wing and he can't make himself move. Slowly, meticulously, Kei feels his wings ripped from his back. The pain whites out his mind, he can't move his chains, or summon his magic.

All the while, the monster laughs.

Then Kei is falling out of the sky. His back is bleeding and his sight is fading. He keeps falling, he can't stop himself as the ground is getting closer.

Something, he assumes it's the monster, slams into his side. Then it's water coming up at him.

His mind is blank when he goes under.

* * *

Any fatigue that had settled into Kei's bones drips away, rage taking its place. His wings cast a blue glow about the cave, which is incredibly dim with Shouyou's absence. Kei's not sure what to do with them, his wings, they're suspended there, just within reach.

Just as the thought of reaching for them crosses his mind, the monster leaps forward.

Kei reacts instinctively, bringing up a wall of magic as he sidesteps, encircling himself in a thick silhouette of blue. It acts as a defensive barrier in place of his wings, though the execution isn't nearly as effortless.

"You know, you could have avoided this, are you aware?" The monster reaches out a hand, fingers ending in points and dripping with green grey magic. Slowly, as if it's only toying with Kei, the monster's magic pools before beginning to wind around Kei's silhouette, attempting to break through it.

"Just turn the demon king over, or kill him yourself, that's all you sorry lot of beings had to do. Although, if you had, I never would have gotten the opportunity to take your pretty little wings."

That snaps Kei's focus just long enough for his barrier to flicker. His chains manage to deflect the monster's magic long enough for him to jump back. He keeps them whipping about to keep the monster at a distance. By this point, he's trying to gather his battle sense, it's been far too long since he's been engaged in combat against a being on his power level.

He has no desire for the monster to be at his neck again.

However, the monster is right. Killing Oikawa would have solved a lot of problems. It would have been easy, anyone can be caught off guard. But that's not how the gods operate. Sugawara never legitimately considered the monster's offer. From the second it was proposed, he was already thinking his way around it. The gods don't turn on their allies.

Besides, no one wants a demon as their enemy.

"But you didn't. Your kind, you're all soft, soft and weak. You're young, even that silver haired coward you call a leader. I've been here since the beginning, I know things that you'll never see, things you'll never comprehend. Why you would ever align yourselves with such a disgusting breed of being is beyond me."

Kei nearly falls as he lurches to avoid the monster's sword. The magic pooling in his right hand darkens considerably before it drips along his chains.

The monster is ridiculously calm, and that only serves to agitate Kei further. In the cramped space of the cave, he can't do much. There isn't much time for thinking. Though the monster itself isn't moving all that much, its magic is just as active as Kei's chains.

A startling jolt blossoms from Kei's right hip, radiating up and out. He doesn't bother looking at the wound, just spares a hand to hold to his side, sealing that part of his torso in a magic of icy white. It'll hold the wound in stasis for a short while, Kei's not sure how serious it is.

He leaps forward, chains multiplying as the darker blue spreads further and further. Once the extent of his chains are covered, a portion of them move to immobilize the monster's weapon, the rest loop around its neck, just tight enough to be felt. Kei's magic covers the monster's hands and feet, lifting it off the ground.

The glow from his magic throws terrifyingly grotesque shadows on the rock wall. He's little more than a pale body dowsed in light too bright to look at directly. A heady mix of rage, glee, and anticipation swirls inside him.

He could do it, squeeze the life from this wretched being.

But the monster is smiling.

"That malice in you," it says. Kei can detect no change in its voice, so he tightens his chains.

"What about it?"

"It will grow, and it will only fester if you kill me. You'll gain no closure from this. What shall you do with your wings, I wonder?"

Kei doesn't loosen his chains, not even a little bit, but the monster is free in the next moment anyways.

"No matter, I'll end your miserable life like I should have done before."

As the monster moves forward, Kei reaches into the empty space. He'd have very much liked to finish this fight with a level head, but he might as well take a page from someone else's book and act a little brash.

There's a hand around his neck before he can summon what he needs. The monster is leering at him, eyes shining as it lifts Kei off the ground. Its magic winds around Kei's shoulders, spreading across his scars.

"Now, isn't this familiar," it hisses, "I must confess, I find myself disappointed. I should have liked to fight you in the sky once again."

The squeezing around his neck does nothing, Kei doesn't need air. He puts up a bit of a struggle, for the show, and delves into the empty space. He'd vanished the bowls when Yamaguchi came to his workroom, and they're waiting for him.

His magic is potent, having been fused for so long, just waiting for him to reclaim it.

It floods his system, freezing him through and through before it reconnects with his blessing. All at once, it flows from Kei's hands, sharpening to a point and skewering through the monster's shoulder, pinning it to the wall.

As the monster makes to move, another line of magic erupts to pierce its sword hand, and another goes through its right leg.

Kei doesn't hesitate, doesn't give it the time to speak. The blood mixed magic keeps forming new lines, until the monster is pinned completely to the rock. Wordlessly, Kei takes hold of its neck and squeezes. It's only fitting.

When he feels the last bit of life vanish from the monster, Kei takes a step back.

His whole body feels far too heavy, far too cold. His vision is obscured by colorful splotches, and he can feel a tremor starting up in his hands. Slowly, his chains retract, slithering back until they're bracelets once again. The only place that's not absolutely frozen is his back. It's on fire, burning him alive.

Kei's legs give out, he hits the cave floor and his eyes close.

* * *

Well, how about that?

I've only got one or two more chapters left, so I hope you're all ready.

Thank you all so much for being patient with me, I know my update schedule is less than ideal. I'd love to hear your thoughts on his chapter, so please let me know what you think! I honestly really do enjoy hearing your thoughts.

I also wanted to do something special since this has reached over 3k hits on AO3, so if there's enough of a demand for it, I could probably (very easily) be persuaded to write some excerpt shorts of the other gods' interactions. I'm not sure if that's something you'd all like to have or not, but let me know either way.


	17. Homeward Bound

It's been a while. Instead of finals week, I had more of a finals month, add to that general stress, family issues, and depressive episodes, so hopefully my unplanned leave is forgivable.

I'm unofficially out of school, just have to go to graduation, so I've got some free time. I'll work on all that I can and, barring unforeseen issues, I'm hoping to finish this story sometime in June. I've only got two, three max, chapters planned.

That being said, I'll shut up, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Kei remembers the day he first saw someone die as he does the majority of all things; with perfect clarity.

During the First War, he'd been stuck at the Stronghold with Daichi and some of the other unofficiated gods. They weren't allowed to fight, if they were to die, then they wouldn't come back. As a whole, the gods couldn't risk such a thing. It was especially risky given just how many of them were unofficiated.

The result of losing so many gods would be catastrophic.

So Kei had stayed in the infirmary, eagerly and anxiously waiting for the paper birds to bring in reports. In the beginning, the reports were fine, no deaths, no major injuries, and no troublesome complications. Oikawa's team was making headway in the South, Kuroo and Bokuto had driven a wedge through the forces in the North. The fifth day brought their first major victory. Everything was fine for a short while.

Kei hadn't slept for the first half of the war. After two weeks, the first body arrived.

Ushered in by Nishinoya and Aone, the body was almost unrecognizable, the only identifier was the stained yellow wrist cuff that indicated he was one of Terushima's scouts. Besides Daichi, Kei was the only other non combatant in the infirmary, everyone else was holed away in the safe room. He saw blood spilling to the tiles, splashing, he heard the pained whimpers as Aone lifted the body onto a bed. Kei had been frozen, sitting on an empty cot, hands shaking as he took in the dying shapeshifter before him.

The two guardians left and Daichi acted with single mindedness, hands glowing as he began to heal the scout.

But he was too late, and whatever was killing the other god was working faster than Daichi's magic.

When it became clear that they'd died, Daichi took a step back, tears in his eyes and his fists clenched tight.

Kei had watched, eyes wide, wings fluttering, as the body began to glow. The light was white, slowly engulfing the body before it turned a dark grey green. Within a moment, the scout was nothing but a hazy outline within the light.

Then, he vanished.

Either transformed into light, or consumed by it, Kei still isn't sure, the body disappeared. The light rose up before swirling down into the ground.

Terushima's kind, shapeshifters, are born of the depths of their realm, and so this one returned.

It was a strange thing to see, especially so young. But he never left the infirmary, even though Daichi tried to make him stay with the others, Kei stayed there for as long as the Stronghold was standing. He watched all of them die, tried to help Daichi by holding some of them in stasis when he could. He took care of those who were injured so that Daichi could devote attention to those who needed it. But it wasn't always enough.

Since then, Kei has seen plenty of gods, nymphs, creatures, and demons die. All with the same results. Children of the sky, like him and his brother, turn into blue light and travel up. Children of the sea return to the waves. Children of fire disperse in a flash of red, fading completely after a few seconds. Demons fade slowly, in a hash of black, grey and red. When nymphs die, their bodies return to the forest or sea, depending on which they came from.

All balances are checked, one must return to where one came from.

The oracle was strange. When he died, his body started smoking, wisps of blue and red spiraling into the magically charged air. His body faded, shimmering and leaving nothing behind.

Kei wonders if he'll be going back to the sky any time soon. He's not sure if he'd mind all that much. It's been far too long since he's felt the wind against his face, far too long since he's felt at _home_. It's not like he'll see his brother though, Akiteru won't be waiting for him if he dies. He doesn't even know if he'll be alone, or if he'll be aware of his state. But all the same, maybe dying won't be all that bad, whenever it happens.

It might be soon.

He can't feel the majority of his body, and the only sensation he has is coming from the burning at his back. He can't see anything, the darkness has never really scared him until now. But he's gotten used to things being bright, Shouyou has made things bright, and Kei doesn't really want to go back to the black.

Shouyou.

Kei doesn't even know if they made it to the Stronghold.

Wait.

No, that's not right. The Palace, it's the Palace. The Stronghold doesn't exist anymore. Kageyama took Shouyou to the Palace. They'll be okay, Kageyama is capable, he won't let anything happen to Shouyou.

Yamaguchi and Kenma will be all right too, they have to be. When properly focused, and determined, Yamaguchi can be terrifying, and Kenma has more than enough raw power to be overwhelming. They'll be fine.

But Kei has to make sure.

He doesn't know how the others are faring. Is Akaashi okay in his World Room? Has Kuroo had to catalog anymore losses? Where's Sugawara? Have any birds been sent out? Come to think of it, he'd not seen any flying overhead when they set out. That can be good or bad. Good because that means everything's all right. Bad because that means Sugawara may have been taken.

Kei doesn't think that Daichi will let that happen though, and Oikawa will certainly do everything in his power to protect the one who kept his team safe.

At least, he hopes so.

The blurry world that meets him when he cracks open his eyes makes him want to close them again. He can make out the monster, though he doesn't know if it's still alive. It should be dead, and Kei curses himself for his own weakness in blacking out. He felt its life go out, there's no signature, but the body still holds a dingy glow.

He can't feel his limbs at all at this point, but he knows the motions for standing up. Detached, he watches his arms move into the proper positions and forces himself upright.

He clamps his teeth shut as pain spears through his side. Looking down, Kei sees the gash the monster had given him, easily weeping blood since his stasis vanished when he fell unconscious. With more effort than it should take, Kei manages to lift his hand to the wound, applying the stasis once more.

Actually getting his feet under him takes some work. There's still no feeling in his body, besides the unfading pain of course, but he manages an uneven crouch. A dizzy spell swirls to life in his head, rocking his body forward. He wretches, feeling only the tug in his stomach. He doesn't vomit so much as he chokes. The only thing trickling from his throat is the magic he'd taken in earlier. Silver and thick, Kei gags, throat burning. It's acrid, and Kei heaves again at the taste. The bloodied magic pools on the cave floor, semi solid before it begins to seep through the rock, giving up wisps of smoke.

Instead of trying to stand again, Kei swallows his pride and drags himself to the opposite side of the cave, letting the wall do the work of keeping him upright. He turns slightly, just enough that he can look outside.

It doesn't look like that much time has passed, and given that Akaashi's likely still locked in his World Room, that's not surprising. All it means is that Kei hasn't been out for that long. That's good. He closes his eyes, straining his senses.

There aren't any monsters close by, and he's not picking up any signatures in the immediate area. That can be good or bad, and he'd like to press further but he's too exhausted.

Instead, Kei looks himself over.

The side wound appears to be his only major injury. His arms and legs are covered by his armour cloth, he's missing one arm guard, and his left shin guard is barely on. He can't see any saturated spots to indicate bleeding. However, his sashes, and Akiteru's, are stained with blood from his side. Akiteru's sash from the first war bears a cut that splits the fabric by a length about the size of Kei's pinkie finger.

He tips his head back and closes his eyes.

His wings are singing.

They're high and light, shaky from years of disuse, but their tone is just the same as it's ever been. They call for him, his magic straining. The magic keeping them suspended is gone, leaving them lying on the cave floor. One of them lies with its tip in a puddle of blood, the feathers stained dark.

Slowly, Kei pushes himself up the wall, using it to support nearly all of his weight. His vision blacks out for a heartbeat and when it comes back, it's blurry. Nevertheless, Kei takes an unsteady step forward.

He crumples, knees smashing into the rocks, his hands flying out to brace himself

"Damn it."

Kei stays where he is a moment, taking a breath and squeezing his eyes shut.

When he opens them again, he draws his legs closer, the sound of his guards against the rock rattles through his skull. Looking up, he can see his wings, they're easily within reach, but he hesitates.

Before now, if asked what he'd do to get his wings back, Kei would have responded with an immediate 'anything'. To fly again, to return to the sky, to stand atop the tallest tree and feel the wind on his face, Kei would do anything. Without them he's felt incomplete, though he would never admit that their loss has made him feel broken.

When he gets them back, what then? Will Daichi be able to graft them back on? Or will they be useless? Will Kei even be able to fly? He doesn't know if he'll be able to destroy them, because he's certainly not going to keep them if he can't _really_ get them back.

They would just serve as a reminder.

He reaches out, fingers only moments away. He encases his wings in magic, putting them in stasis a heartbeat before his fingers make contact.

He vanishes them to the empty space before he can second guess himself. He can't do anything currently, there's no point dwelling on the fact. He'll have to wait until he can actually feel his body to move on.

To pass the time, Kei stares at the corpse of the monster.

It was right. Kei hates that it was right. Killing the monster wasn't cathartic in the slightest. Its body has long since run out of blood to bleed, leaving behind the gaping holes from Kei's infused magic. It deserved worse, Kei wishes he could have done worse.

He gained no reasons for why the monster took his wings, no explanation as to why any of this happened. He hates not knowing things, and now he'll never know. He doesn't think he'll ever be at peace with the situation, even if he does get his wings back.

When the glow is almost gone, feeling returns to Kei's body. And with it, more pain. His entire body is aching, the use of the old magic must have wrung him out, torn him up a little. He checks under his guards, feeling out his limbs for anything out of place. He finds more cuts, deep scratches that aren't bleeding anymore. He lifts one of his hands to his throat, wincing upon contact. No doubt, it's bruised, and bruised badly. His wound is still holding steady in its stasis, so he takes away the spell and takes off his first sash. He folds it into a square and places it over the wound, then moves his other sashes higher to hold it in place. It's not bleeding heavily, and his first sash holds no intrinsic value for him.

Kei continues with his check over, finding burn marks all over his arms and torso. They're like Sugawara's, but less severe. Kei can only guess that it's from when he removed the monster's tether from Shouyou's wings.

The chains of his right wrist extend out, bunching together and locking in place to form a walking stick, allowing Kei to levy himself up.

He gives one last look to the dimming monster and sighs. At the opening of the cave, Kei turns around, spelling up the entrance to prevent entry or exit. He'll let the corpse rot here, and none of its kind will be able to retrieve its body..

Once the spells are set, Kei casts his gaze to the sky, searching for any of Sugawara's birds. There are none, so he heads in the direction of the Palace, moving much to slow for his liking.

As he moves, he plans. It's a simple plan, but he can think of nothing better at this time.

Get to the Palace, see Shouyou, get healed, return to the battle and fight without a care.

He will throw himself at any monster that dares get within his range, he'll get his catharsis that way if he has to. And if he dies, then that's that. He's expendable, he knows that, despite what others may think.

It'll hurt Shouyou, he thinks suddenly.

The little Sun God wouldn't think of Kei's death as an acceptable loss, it'll be a personal one. And not one that will be taken lightly. Should a new Moon God manifest, Shouyou will take issue.

Kei stops for a moment and closes his eyes.

Does he want to do that to Shouyou?

Of course not.

If the situation were reversed, and Kageyama died, would Kei forgive him?

Not at all.

Kei keeps moving. He'll revise his plan based on what he sees when he gets back to the Stronghold.

No.

That's not right.

Maybe's he's not as ready to fight as he thinks he is. He doesn't think he hit his head, maybe he's just exhausted. Daichi will fix him, he'll be fine.

The Palace, he's going to the Palace.

He's going to see Shouyou, going to track down Yamaguchi and Kenma, going to see Daichi but not about his wings, not yet. They can wait until after the war, if Kei hasn't changed his mind until then.

Step after step, and it seems as though the trees are growing closer together, branches spreading out to block the sky. He can't sense anything, but the voided area died when Kei killed the monster, so he really is alone.

How strange that he doesn't feel comfortable with such a feeling anymore.

Perhaps it has something to do with it being wartime. The last time he was alone, his wings were ripped from him.

What could be taken now? His blessing?

It would combust, and whoever tried to take it would die with him.

His chains?

They wouldn't work with anyone else, remaining as bracelets until he, or a new Moon God, took them up again.

His life?

He has to get back to the Palace. Make sure Yamaguchi is alive, alive and well. Make sure that Kenma survived. Make sure that Kageyama made it back safely. Make sure that Shouyou is okay. He has to see the spotless infirmary, see that no one has died. He has to know that the only reason Daichi is there, is because he's taking care of Shouyou. He has to be sure that Sugawara is alive, that Oikawa and his team are all still alive. He has to see each and every god, demon, nymph, and shapeshifter, has to see each one alive.

He'll accepted nothing less.

He runs through names, and is so lost in doing so that he almost misses the signature.

Shimmery, shaky, unbelievably bright.

Tadashi.

Kei looks around for him, the signature is close, he should be here.

"Tsuki!"

Kei has exactly the span of one heartbeat to process his name before Yamaguchi crashes into him.

He hits the ground and Yamaguchi goes with him. Kei breathes a sigh of relief and gives in, wrapping his arms around his friend. His body hurts a lot more now, his back isn't giving him any thank you's, but he doesn't care.

"You're alive," he says after a moment. Yamaguchi gets off of him and helps him up.

"So are you. Did you find Shouyou? Where's Kageyama?"

"At the Palace, Kageyama took him. Where's Kenma?"

"Right here."

The Nymph of the Deep Sea looks okay considering that all visible skin save for his face is covered in sea plants. But he's alive, and his signature is relatively strong.

"Has anyone died?" Kei finds his voice to be much softer than intended.

"We haven't gotten any birds," Kenma says. "I've got a line with Tetsurou, he hasn't reported any casualties."

"I'll send a creature to the Palace ahead of us."

Yamaguchi reaches back into his hood and pulls out a small crow. It glows bright white before taking off, little more than a blur, in the direction of the Palace.

"Oh," Yamaguchi starts, "here."

He pulls off Akiteru's shield and helps Kei adjust it over his back.

"Thank you."

 _Thank you for surviving._

"Don't worry about it, Tsuki."

* * *

Kinda short, but this is a connecting chapter, the next one will be longer. I think it has something to do with my lack of flashbacks in this one.

I feel like Tsukishima has a lot of cognitive dissonance here, lots of inner turmoil he's got to muddle through. In any case, please let me know what you think, or your predictions for where the story's going if that's easier? Thank you all for bringing the story this far!


	18. A Promise and What Comes After

Ha! I said this chapter was going to be up tonight, and it's before midnight, so I'm on time!

* * *

"You're bleeding."

Kei looks down to his side to find blood seeping through his sash.

Maybe moving wasn't the smartest choice for him.

With a grimace, Kei undoes his sash and applies a layer of stasis to the wound. Once the blue glow holds steady, he ties his sash on again, uncaring as he gets blood on his palms.

"Any other serious injuries?" Yamaguchi asks.

Kei's neck is very obviously bruised, but all the burns remain under his clothes and guards, so Yamaguchi can't worry about them.

"No. You?"

"Nothing debilitating," Yamaguchi says, a soft smile on his face.

Kei scans over him, seeing no obvious bleeding or heavy limping, so he can't challenge Yamaguchi's statement.

"Kozume?"

"Hm?"

"Your leg."

"Just a cut, it's not a big deal."

As with Yamaguchi, Kei can't contest the statement, so they keep walking.

Kei has to keep reminding himself of their destination, he repeats to himself who's alive after the last war, and tells himself that they'll still be alive. They're all more experienced now, and if the combined efforts of Iwaizumi and Oikawa don't at least make a dent, then all of this is pointless.

He tells himself that the infirmary will be spotless, untouched by war. He tells himself that maybe, Daichi won't even be there, because it didn't take long to heal Shouyou and he's already gone back out.

He pictures the Palace, makes himself remember how they built it, how they poured magic into the foundation, how it felt like home. He remembers living there with Akiteru, growing up alongside the new gods, training in the fields, practicing his magic in the gardens. Kei runs over every detail, from the stain glass window of Kyoutani's workroom, to the way the stones shift every so often. He thinks on each bauble in Sugawara's office, and each glimmering light on his table. The flowers in the garden that he likes best, his Spire, the murals in the meeting room, Kei remembers all of it.

Maybe he'll move back. He knows that Yamaguchi wants to, but that Yamaguchi doesn't want to leave him to himself. It'll be good for the both of them. Shouyou will probably appreciate the move too.

"It's quiet."

Kozume's voice does nothing to affect the atmosphere, if anything, it just makes the space around them even heavier with silence. Kei can hear no sounds of battle, no weapons clashing together, no magic erupting or rage fueled screams.

"It's just because this area's already been cleared, right?" Yamaguchi says, trying to dissipate the unease that's settled.

Kei just nods, because he doesn't want to say that Yamaguchi is wrong. Either way, he lets his chains divvy up a little more.

They keep walking.

"Your wings," Yamaguchi says suddenly, perhaps in an effort to keep the silence at bay, "did you get them back?"

Kei nods, not trusting himself to speak. His wings are so close to him, it would only take a second to take them out. He can't bring himself to even look at them now though.

"Do you think Daichi will be able to…Best not to think about that right now, huh? We should focus."

Yamaguchi really is too perceptive for his own good.

But it's not like Kei wants to talk about it anyway, so it works out just fine. Well, he doesn't want to talk about it now in any case. It's a subject that can very well stand to wait. There are more pressing matters.

Stronghold. Palace. Stronghold. Palace. Shouyou's alive. Oikawa's awake. The Demons are all united. His brother is dead. Saeko's dead. He killed the monster who took his wings. This war is kill or be killed. This is the third war in Kei's lifetime, the second he's fought in, and it's the worst.

They move a bit too slow for Kei's taste, matching Kozume's pace. Now, Kei can argue the point, the cut must be more severe than the nymph had claimed.

"Your wound," Kei says, hands already glowing.

"What?"

"I can put it in stasis until we get to the Palace, it's slowing you down."

It takes Kozume a moment but he nods. His eyes glow yellow and he extends his right leg, pulling aside the swirling fabric of his robes. The sea plants unravel to reveal an agitated gash running from Kozume's knee to his ankle. As it's no longer being held together by the plants, it starts bleeding immediately.

The wound is worse than Kei thought, deeper, and made with some sort of enchanted weapon. He secures it in a stasis and Kozume wraps it up again, the plants now glowing a slight blue.

They move a bit faster, Kei doesn't dare recall his chains.

The highest spire of the Palace comes into view, and with no monsters anywhere near them, Kei is on edge.

Yaku meets them the moment they arrive at the barrier.

"Hurry," he says. Yamaguchi's constellation crow sits on the smaller god's shoulder, and it flutters back to Yamaguchi as they pass through the layers of magic.

As they reach the entryway, Kei can't stop himself from running as fast as he can to the infirmary.

The Palace seems to sense his urgency, helping him along. After only a few moments, he can see the infirmary door.

* * *

When Kei wakes up, whatever magic keeping him asleep sluggishly slipping away, it's to the swirling pattern of the infirmary ceiling. There's an ache, deep set and spiraling out from his shoulders. It rushes back to him then and he can't stop himself from sitting up and reaching behind him. His fingers meet nothing but scarred skin, and something that is distinctly foreign.

He remembers now, falling into the ocean, blood and magic pouring from his body. By all accounts, he should be gone, blue lights rising into the sky. But Kozume's nymphs had broken neutrality and gotten him back to shore. He remembers stumbling into the infirmary for Daichi to stabilize him, then rushing back out to fight, chains tearing through any monster stupid enough to get close to him. But he was ground bound the entire time.

He sighs and drops his hands, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the tears creeping up.

"Tsukishima."

Kei hears Daichi's voice as if it's under water. He looks up, hastily wiping at his eyes, glad that he is without his glasses, because Daichi is looking at him and Kei doesn't want to know what kind of expression he has. Daichi had wings at one point, Kei's seen them in the memories of the older gods.

Whether they were taken or given willingly, Daichi is the only one can hold a candle to what Kei is feeling at the moment.

"You haven't been out for very long," Daichi says, sitting down beside Kei's bed.

Daichi sounds _bad_. He sounds old and haggard. He'd said that Kei hasn't been asleep that long, that means others are in stasis or in healing comas. If it hasn't been long since the end of the war, then Daichi is still working, the magic hasn't taken quite yet for serious injuries.

"Who else?" Kei asks, shifting to sit more comfortably, bringing his legs closer to his body.

"Hmm?"

"Who else is asleep?"

"Iwaizumi is, I don't think he'll be awake for several lifetimes, but he's stable. Yamaguchi woke only recently. Ennoshita and Tendou will be out for a bit longer, as will Kindaichi and Inuoka, Bokuto too. Here, you're squinting." Daichi holds up what Kei can only assume are his glasses.

He puts them on and surveys the infirmary.

Iwaizumi doesn't even look like a person, Kei can only tell because of his signature, faded though it is. Daichi's healing magic is waging a war of its own with some form of old magic. The body encased is held together with thick bands of golden magic, laced over with thin tendrils of silver. But Daichi isn't actively working on him, so that means he'll be okay. Ennoshita is sans one leg, as is Tendou, both are wrapped in a light layer of green. Kindaichi is missing a hand, and Inuoka an arm, they're in much the same state as Ennoshita and Tendou. Bokuto appears all right save for the intense beacon of light from his left eye. The rest of his body is littered with fast fading bruises and cuts.

It's Akaashi that draws Kei's attention.

Akaashi's time fields are visible, but Kei has never seen one such as this. A film of grey surrounds Akaashi's body, giving off pulses of purple that travel out. The wavering appearance bulges out at random intervals, rotating around him, as if trying its damndest to keep him contained. There's a burn up his torso, and like Inuoka he's without one of his arms.

"Kageyama is working with Kyoutani on prosthetics for them, I have faith that they'll work."

"Who'd we lose?"

Kei's not naive. This may be the first war he's but he knows they weren't luckily enough to have gotten through this without a few lost gods. They weren't lucky enough last time, now won't be any different. He won't pretend that everything is okay. Things will change, they'll get new incarnations, new faces, new names.

"Saeko, she died before she could get here. Ukai and Takeda too. Several of Kiyoko's nymphs are gone. Kuroo and a few others are still out searching for those who didn't check in."

There's something in Daichi's tone that says he's holding something back.

"For certain, who else?"

"Kunimi and Oikawa are gone," Daichi says after a moment.

Oh.

With both of their leaders gone, one dead and one in a healing coma, the demons have no one.

"Who hasn't checked in?" Kei asks instead.

As Daichi opens his mouth, the infirmary doors burst open.

* * *

Kei bursts into the infirmary, looking wildly for Shouyou's orange glow. He spots it easily enough and doesn't hesitate to rush over. He gathers the little Sun God in his arms and holds him tight.

"Shouyou," he whispers, ignoring the heat blistering across his skin. It's an indication that Shouyou is alive, that he's well.

"You're okay! You're safe." Shouyou hugs him back, hiding his face in Kei's neck. "I was so worried."

The heat swells and Kei feels Shouyou's hands on his back.

It's only for a moment, but Kei lets everything fade away. Shouyou's alive, he's alive and well. He's not gone. He's moving, speaking, not laid up and under layers of healing magic. Shouyou's _okay_. Kei searches Shouyou's signature for any weakness, anything to indicate that he's suffering in any way. But it's okay too. Just as brilliant as the first day they met. Kei breathes in deep, reassures himself that Shouyou is with him, that he's not dreamed this up somehow. He turns his head to press a kiss into Shouyou's hair, a few tears slipping out in relief.

Kei pulls away after a moment and cups Shouyou's face in his hands, looking him over. His injuries seem more or less fixed, no sign of open cuts or bruises. But it doesn't feel like Daichi's work, the magic is different.

Belatedly, the rest of the infirmary room comes into focus.

Asahi's on a cot, blood slicking the floor around him. He's without his hammers, his hair is sweat slicked to his face and his whole body is convulsing while Daichi works. It's a battle of grey and white magic as Daichi attempts to combat whatever spell is attempting to take Asahi from them. It looks like Daichi's winning, but only by a margin.

He's entirely absorbed in the fight, it doesn't look as though he's even registered their arrival.

Terushima is on another cot in a heavy stasis, just one step from a healing coma. From what Kei can see, the issue is an abdominal wound, severe enough that it could have very well cut Terushima in half. It glows a muggy grey, and Terushima's face is locked in a grimace.

Kei turns back to Shouyou and that's when he sees his wings.

They've lost their shimmer, despite the searing heat having gone nowhere. Each wing bares a wound, one a gash, the other a ragged hole. There's a faint glow to indicate each area is in stasis, but Kei refuses to process that, he sees only the injuries.

Falling from the sky.

A back full of scar tissue.

Fractured bones

A pain that never fades.

Ground bound.

"What happened?" he asks Kageyama. The room immediately drops a few degrees in temperature, Kei's magic flares for a split second, icy blue shooting high enough to reach the ceiling before he reigns it back in.

The Weaponsmith sits on the edge of Shouyou's cot, body thrumming with tension, guilt in his eyes. He's more or less unscathed, though Kei has no idea if he's hiding injuries beneath his armour. There's a bruise on the underside of his jaw, and more than a few blood stains on his clothes. His fingers are taped up, something that Kei has seen only once.

"We were ambushed on the way back, I took care of them but one of them got to Shouyou-"

"It's not serious," Shouyou cuts in, "Daichi put my wings in stasis before Asahi came in. It's just a cut-"

"One of them skewered through his wings," Kageyama says flatly. "He can still fly, Daichi's sure he can heal them perfectly, Asahi came in just as he was about to start. Shouyou wanted to try fixing them himself but I didn't want him making them worse."

"Kei, it's not that bad, it's oka-"

Shouyou stops himself when he takes in Kei's expression.

It most certainly is not okay. Kei can't help but think back to that first moment he woke up in the infirmary. The moment that he finally processed what had happened to him, that he was without his wings, that he would never leave the ground again.

That moment had crushed him.

And Shouyou's wings had suffered an injury, Shouyou's ground bound until Daichi fixes them. Kei takes it personally.

Yamaguchi's hand on his shoulder snaps him back, the look on his friend's face even more so. One of Sugawara's birds sits in Yamaguchi's hands, it's nearly completely covered in writing.

"We need to go," Yamaguchi says, his voice shaky. "Oikawa needs Kageyama, we're wanted at the center of the Southern force, and Kuroo wants Kenma with his team."

That was the whole point, wasn't it? Make sure Shouyou was safe, return to the fight. They can deal with the state of Shouyou's wings later.

The war's not over, Kei can't hide out in the infirmary like he did during the first war, not even to stay with Shouyou. Kageyama looks to be having the same internal fight, as does Kozume.

But not Shouyou.

"Go, I'll be here waiting for you. I don't like it, but I know-"

Kageyama grabs him first, wraps Shouyou up tight before he kisses him.

"I'll come right back," Kageyama whispers, pressing something into Shouyou's hand. Shouyou holds him just as tight before Kageyama walks out, weapon spinning, a bird following close behind.

Yamaguchi gives Shouyou a quick hug, whispering something that Kei can't hear, before he moves towards the door of the infirmary, waiting for Kei. Kenma and Shouyou touch foreheads and Shouyou smiles as he watches the Nymph vanish.

Then there's just Kei.

"I really wish I could go with you," Shouyou says, drawing Kei closer.

"I'm not going to risk you getting hurt, Kageyama won't either."

"I know, doesn't mean I have to like it."

They find themselves how they were when Kei first arrived, holding each other tight, Shouyou hiding his face. Kei feels a whisper against his back, and a tug at his sides. He looks down to see Shouyou tying a sash around Kei's waist, more specifically, it's Shouyou's sash.

"You'll come back to me."

It's not a question.

"I will."

"Good, I won't forgive you if you don't."

Kei nods and walks out with Yamaguchi, forcing himself not to look back, summoning a blank paper bird at the last moment. His magic flickers wildly as he sends the bird on ahead. It passes through the walls of the Palace and the layers of protective magic surrounding it and shoots straight up. Once it finds a proper vantage point, Kei closes his eyes.

All of their guardians are still standing, though Nishinoya is missing. Kei has no idea where he is, but it's likely that he left soon after Asahi was brought to the infirmary. Kuroo and Bokuto are both alive, the former is uncharacteristically exhausted though. Kenma is fast approaching, helped along by the river running adjacent to their position. Eita's on a platform headed for the Palace, accompanied by Yaku. The only other major injury that Kei can see belongs to Goshiki. The young god is doing his best to keep up with his team, but he's bleeding from his stomach. Shirabu summons Yahaba with a light and he takes Goshiki to the infirmary.

Kei turns his sight to the Southern front, where he and Yamaguchi are headed. The center of the force is comprised of Sugawara, Ennoshita, Kiyoko, Yachi, Lev, Tendou, and Tanaka.

Tendou is limping heavily, his prosthetic leg is encased in some kind of foreign magic that's preventing him from moving as fluidly as he usually does. Despite that, he cuts down the monster around him, aided by Kiyoko. Tanaka is practically fighting blind, blood blocking his eyes but he doesn't seem seriously injured. Yahci is covered in scratches and bruises. Half of Ennoshita's body is in some degree of stasis, he's backed against a tree, using a barrage of spells to make up for his immobility. Lev handles the monsters attempting to branch off for the Palace, he doesn't appear injured at all, and a vindictive part of Kei thinks that maybe he should be, just so he can have the experience. Sugawara seems to be doing all right, his wires criss cross the field, allowing the gods to pass through without harm but slicing through the monsters with little issue.

Kei turns the bird's sight back to the Palace.

Sugawara's bird circles overhead, appearance hidden from anyone the Palace has not approved of. It's a massive crow, large enough to carry several gods with ease. Sugawara's used it since the first war, back when the Palace was the Stronghold, it keeps surveillance and alerts Sugawara if enemy forces begin to encroach. In the event that that does happen, the crow carries instructions to rescue those without the ability of flight and take them somewhere safe should the monsters overrun the Palace. Until that happens however, the crow will attack until the threat is eliminated before returning to its point of observation.

"Kei?"

His vision blacks out for a moment, the bird stops flying and Kei returns to himself before it can start to fall.

"Hm?"

"We need to go."

Kei nods. He adds another layer of stasis to his wound to be safe and the two of them start running. It's no longer silent, Kei can hear the metallic clashes, the explosions, the dull thuds as bodies hit the ground. He hopes, with everything he has, that they're the bodies of monsters, and not of gods or demons or nymphs.

They encounter a small advancement team and Yamaguchi's spear is flying through half of them in the time it takes for the monster's to spot them. Kei's chains handle the rest, and they hurry forward to catch the force that the advancement team belongs to.

It's a relatively small force, but it's brutes are massive. Kei's determined not to let Yamaguchi use his constellation possession just yet. When Yamaguchi poses the silent question, Kei shakes his head.

He grounds himself and draws more power than strictly necessary from his blessing, sending it along his chains as they stretch over the monsters. Those lucky enough to be touching his chains directly drop instantly, while those unlucky enough to be close fall slowly, completely aware of the acute pain racing through their systems.

Kei takes a stumbling step to recover and draws his chains in a slight bit closer, watching as Yamaguchi's spear flies through the monsters that Kei missed.

"A little warning next time?" he quips.

Kei just cracks a smirk, then they're running again.

It doesn't take long to find the center of the Southern force. It's a mess of quick pulsing signatures and the smell of corpses. The clearing is massive, the team spread thin. Sugawara's wrestling with a monster intent on tearing his head off when Kei and Yamaguchi arrive. Yamaguchi's spear takes care of it and he rushes to help Sugawara to his feet.

Kei casts his eyes over the clearing.

There's so many of them, why are there so many?

He's never seen so many monster all at once, and they don't seem to stop. The constant barrage could mean they're close to the monster's base, but Kei isn't certain that that's the case. It's just unnatural, and it's not even a fact of skill, it's the sheer number of them. They're overwhelming. He soon finds himself in the thick of things, his chains striking monsters down while his magic drops others with a single touch. He sends out barrages where he deems them necessary. Yachi ends up fighting close to him, her rapier flashing dangerously while the roots of the trees around them burst from the ground to skewer monsters or hold them in place.

A bright flash of light erupts, followed by a screech as Yamaguchi's constellation takes hold. Kei's not ready, too focused on a particularly massive monster armed with a battle axe. Kei dives to the side, chains propelling him out of the way just as a clawed foreleg crashes overhead, effectively taking care of Kei's monster.

Most of the remaining monsters converge on Yamaguchi, where they're dealt with after a few seconds.

Kei breaks into a run, grabbing Yachi on his way and retreating to a safer distance as Yamaguchi's monster starts its rampage. There's enough to keep him busy for a while, so Kei takes the time to locate everyone. Kiyoko's making her way over, Sugawara's catching his breath, Tanaka is still locked in combat with whatever monsters hadn't flocked to Yamaguchi. Soon enough though, his fire envelopes them, and he presses on, out of the clearing to chase a brute. Tendou's limping over, and Lev is helping Ennoshita to his feet.

The seven of them settle and Sugawara stands beside Kei, both of their gazes on Yamaguchi's constellation form.

"There's so much more of them then there used to be," Sugawara says.

"Quantity over quality," Kei muses quietly, "their brutes are just the same, but there's an unnatural amount of foot soldiers."

"We'll have to eradicate the elders if we want this to end."

"We'd have to get close enough to them first."

And, oh, wouldn't that work out perfectly?

The monsters rely on sight more so than anything, and that sense seems to have gotten sharper over the long years. However, if the monsters couldn't see them, they could advance quickly, end all of this quickly.

There's only one hitch, and that's the amount of gods, demons, and nymphs that would have to be unseen. A scant few of them can achieve a form of invisibility, Kei is among that group, he can share it with one or two, maybe three, other beings and that's with his blessing. The demons can give themselves a sort of invisibility, but can't mask their signatures. The monsters protecting the elders are not like the brutes and footsoldiers making up the bulk of the attacking force, they're skilled, filled with old magic. They can identify an approaching signature as easily as Kei can summon his chains, and dispose of them even faster.

To hide all of gods' army would require a concentrated amount of magic, geared entirely towards obscurity-

Oh.

"I have an idea. Yamaguchi's almost done, get everyone together, send out birds telling everyone to gear their magic towards a major pushback. Send one to Akaashi, have him slow everything down considerably, just long enough for everyone to get here, then tell the guardians to expand their barrier as far as they can manage."

He leaves Sugawara to send out the birds and calls up his magic as Yamaguchi's beast kills the last monster in the clearing. The beast turns to Lev and Ennoshita but before it takes more than a step, Kei has it wrapped up. It screams at him, an awful noise that has Kei wishing he could cover his ears.

Kei cuts off the magic and the beast vanishes, Yamaguchi falling from the sky. Kei catches him without much issue, holding him steady on his feet.

It should be doable, and if he does it right, then he'll only have to use the magic. The separation will be tricky, and Kei has never been the hopeful type. If the guardians can hold the barrier, and if they move quickly enough, then this war will be over sooner rather than later. That's the whole point, isn't it? Whoever takes the base of their enemy wins. Whoever is left with the most pieces on the board survives. Their options are limited. If Kei can do this, he won't have to lose anybody else.

If they win this war without any deaths, then they can continue on. Akaashi can enjoy the views offered to him in the World Room without a sense of dangerous urgency. Bokuto can sing from the highest Palace spires, the magic in his voice serving as a wake up call for the entire realm. Kenma can return to the Deep Sea, to his nymphs, Terushima's team can finally rest easy away from the borders. Oikawa and Iwaizumi can make up for lost time with their team, Daichi can rest, Sugawara can stop letting the guilt eat away at him.

Kei doesn't really have a choice when he thinks about it.

"What's this idea of yours?" Sugawara asks when Kei and Yamaguchi rejoin them. Dozens of birds are vanishing over the treeline, and Kei waits until the last one has gone to speak.

"I have enough obscurity based magic to hide all of us, I just need everyone here."

"How?" Lev asks. "This magic, how do you have it?"

He gets in Kei's face, eyes practically burning as his wings flutter lazily behind him.

"Don't worry about it."

"Wait." Yamaguchi scrambles to stand up straight, grabbing onto Kei's shoulders. "You can't use them, you just got them back."

"There's not a guarantee that Daichi will be able to-"

"There's not a guarantee that he _won't_ be able to."

Kei doesn't bother telling Yamaguchi about the minute chance he'd get to keep his wings, it's useless information that will only serve to drag the conversation out.

Understanding dawns in Sugawara's eyes.

"I won't ask you to sacrifice-"

"That's what we do in war time. If it means we'll win, if it means that no one else disappears, I'll do it. I've lived without them for ages, I can continue to do so."

Kei makes sure the conversation won't go further and walks off to keep an eye on their approaching allies. The forest glows as the nymphs move towards them, a stunning war cry sounds from the West, a column of fire erupting towards the sky from the source. Kei thinks it might be Tanaka.

Soon, the other gods arrive. The Demons are the first to show themselves.

Oikawa looks the very picture of his title, eyes completely red while his magic rages about him, darting out as though with a mind of its own. He has blood smattered all over him, but doesn't seem to be hurt. Iwaizumi is in much the same state, less crazed, but he's definitely on the verge. Kunimi's left arm is encased in stasis but is relatively mobile, and Kindaichi looks just about ready to kill the first thing to so much as breathe. Yahaba's leaning on Kyoutani, looking very much exhausted, while the latter just looks enraged. Hanamaki and Matsukawa are relatively unharmed, both boasting a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious.

Kageyama is the first to come up to Kei.

"Suga's bird said you had a plan, tell me its not what I think it is."

The concern would be touching, really, but that's not the point. Kei's gone this long without his wings, there's no point in changing that now. The only regret he has about his plan is that he won't be able to participate as a combatant, all of his focus will go towards the spell. He'll be an easy target, so he'll have to hide himself well enough.

If he can, if he holds the spell steady, then the others can advance, they can win the war. If they win the war, then there will be nothing more to worry about. Such a sacrificial move, Kei wonders if his brother would approve.

"It's nothing for you to worry yourself about," Kei says, lacing his fingers behind his neck. "All you have to do is stay alive through this whole mess and get back to Shouyou."

"And you? I'm not the only one he cares about. You know that, don't you?"

Of course he does, to a degree anyway. And he cares about Shouyou too, he'll do what he can to make it out of this mess in one piece, but in the event that he doesn't, at least Shouyou will have Kageyama. If Kei does this, then Shouyou won't have to live in a realm overrun by monsters.

"I know."

The rest of the gods arrive, Kiyoko's nymphs aiding those with injuries before they stand up, eyes turned to Sugawara. The Old God stands flanked by Ushijima and Oikawa, they're conversing quietly, the latter two shooting quick glances around the assembly.

A warbling wave of purple races overhead, and Kei can feel the world slowing. Akaashi won't be able to hold this for very long, so Kei has to do this quickly.

"Are you sure about this?" Ushijima asks him.

"Yes, I am, we have to hurry."

As Kei retrieves his wings, Sugawara relays the situation to those unaware.

Kei removes the stasis on his wings and they flutter as he takes hold of them. There's a jolt, sharp and familiar, and it travels through his body.

* * *

Kei sits at the gate, waiting impatiently.

The search teams should be back soon. There had been no call for infirmary platforms, none that Kei had seen anyhow, so no one was grievously injured. Akiteru hadn't sent a bird, it's likely he forgot to bring any with him, Kei's not surprised. The wait is agonizing though.

Tanaka has been missing since before Kei woke up. He checked in, but had disappeared when he found out about his sister, according to Daichi anyway. Kei doesn't really want to think about what that must feel like. He's not sure who else is dead, and who was simply too injured to move, or unconscious.

He'll find out soon enough.

"Tsukishima, they're approaching." Futakuchi jumps from the wall as Moniwa opens the gate.

Kei stands up, dusting off his tunic as he looks at the gods moving closer.

Kuroo is easy enough to spot, he's supporting Misaki, carrying most of her weight as her left leg is injured. Tanaka shuffles close behind, head bowed, signature unstable and flaring with each step. He looks up for a fraction, his eyes meeting Kei's.

There are more platforms than Kei would care to know, bodies covered in some way or another. The platform beside Tanaka bears a small body, wings limply hanging over the edge. They're dark red, feathers sleek and blood stained, flecked with orange and tinged white at the ends. The body is covered with a cloak that still carries the glow of the setting sun.

The world slows to a crawl.

Behind Tanaka, Ushijima guides a platform. Kei takes a step forward but finds himself frozen as they pass.

These wings are much larger, and Kei knows them as well as he knew his own.

It can't be Akiteru, it _can't_. His brother's an excellent fighter, he may not be the best, but he can hold his own. Kei gave him the shield at the start, before they dispersed into groups. It was supposed to keep him safe, Kei has no doubt in Kageyama and Kyoutani's craftsmanship or Nishinoya's ability. Akiteru doesn't fight on the ground, he fights in the sky like Kei, or rather like Kei used to. He controls the wind, the sky is supposed to protect him. Akiteru came first, the first child of the sky in a long while, one that came about following the rise of the sun. Akiteru was the good one.

So, why is he the one on the platform? Why is he the one who'll disappear? Why will he be the one who gets reincarnated? Why wasn't he protected?

Too late, Kei realizes that the procession has passed. He breaks into a run after them, reaching the infirmary as Akiteru's platform levels over a bed.

No one tries to stop him as he moves closer.

The cloak covering Akiteru belongs to Kuroo, Kei recognizes it by the darker than pitch black fabric and the subtle way it shifts on its own. Though he doesn't know it yet, it's Kuroo's way of apologizing.

Kei pulls it back just enough to see his brother's face.

There's no obvious damage, no blood splatters or open wounds decorating his face. The only startling thing is that his signature is gone, no trace of it.

Kei bites down on his lip when the tears start to burn his eyes. At this moment, Kei doesn't care anymore about whatever image the Moon God is supposed to hold. He drops to his knees, hands finding his brother's beneath the cloak.

Kei cries, paying no mind to how his voice echoes across the infirmary.

It's not right. Not right that Akiteru is the one lying here, and that Kei's only without his wings, alive.

A hand falls on his shoulder and he jumps, choking on his own sobs.

"Move back," Kuroo says softly, pulling Kei's limp body from the floor.

Akiteru's body is glowing. The lights are soft, varying in shades of light blue. It starts at his wings, crawling in towards his body. Kuroo moves his cloak to reveal a blood stain running across Akiteru's stomach. Without thinking, Kei grabs for the sashes, the knots coming undone at his touch. He holds them close, uncaring that his brother's blood now stains his palms.

He watches, silent, as the lights claim his brother little by little. Then the lights rise, floating up towards the ceiling and passing through it.

Instinctively, Kei takes a step forward, one of his hands reaching out for them, only to grasp onto nothing. His eyes drop to the sashes in his hand, one dark orange, the other a dark red.

Whoever comes back, whoever the new Wind God is, they won't be Akiteru. They'll be someone new, and Kei doesn't think he'll be able to look them in the eye without thinking of his brother.

There are other lights erupting around the infirmary. Flashes of red that vanish as soon as Kei sees them, softly floating green that swirls around before dispersing. Bodies disappear one by one, and Kei starts to cry again, trying his best to stop.

"Kuroo, take him outside," Daichi says.

Once again, Kuroo's hand is on his shoulder. Kei doesn't fight as he's guided away from the infirmary. They make it to Kiyoko's garden without running into anyone else. Kuroo sits him down on the ground and kneels beside him.

"Here," he says, voice so soft that Kei can barely hear it, "Tanaka found it close to your brother's body."

Kuroo draws a line in the air, reaching into his own vanished space and withdrawing Akiteru's shield. He hands it to Kei, who hesitates before accepting it.

"I'm sorry."

Kei doesn't understand why Kuroo sounds so broken.

* * *

Kei's fingers flex lightly against the feathers. He takes a breath and closes his eyes, preparing to start withdrawing the magic.

"Stop!"

It's Oikawa, voice cracking slightly as he strides towards Kei.

"We don't have time for this," Kei says.

"I'm not letting you do this." Oikawa comes to a stop in front of him.

"This is not- Oikawa-"

"This is my mess, I inherited from my predecessor and I will not have you sacrifice your wings for something that you bear no fault for."

"This isn't your fault and you know it."

But Oikawa isn't moving, isn't standing down.

And his demons aren't either. They've all apparently resigned themselves to this after hearing what it was that Kei planned to do.

"We don't have any other plans at the moment."

"You do. Have everyone protect the Palace, by any means necessary, barring self sacrifice. My team and I will take care of the Elders and stop this before it gets worse."

The only reason that Kei can think of that Oikawa would wait to say something like this is because he was scared. For all that Oikawa is capable and cutthroat, he's as scared of losing those he cares about as anyone else. His sense of responsibility is warped too. If he views this war as something that he bears fault for, then anyone sacrificing something so large is a direct undermining. He won't stand for something like this if it could have been prevented.

"We're allies-" Kei starts.

"Exactly, and your people have helped mine greatly, you were not meant to be part of war, but you helped anyway. Let us end this," Iwaizumi cuts in, coming up behind Oikawa. "Keep your wings, and let us end this."

Kei's wings are still out and singing, the magic glowing and dimming as time passes.

"Sugawara, Kuroo, Ushiwaka," Oikawa calls, "allow us this much, you'll see us all again."

Kei waits for Sugawara to say 'no', for Kuroo to shake his head, for Ushijima to refuse such a ridiculous plan.

"We'll make sure you have a home to return to," Sugawara says instead. Kuroo and Ushijima both affirm the statement and Kei stares in disbelief.

Another wave of purple light rolls overhead, a high pitched whine ringing through the air. Akaashi's extreme slowdown is over, their time to debate has passed.

Oikawa and his team take off with another word. The assembly splits off into teams, rushing back to their various places of battle. Tanaka lets out a scream, burning a path towards the highest concentration of enemies he can sense.

The only thing Kei can coherently process is his promise to return to Shouyou when this is all over.

He stows his wings in the vanished space without a second thought, and watches the demons disappear, dread sinking heavy in his chest.

* * *

One: This got way more complicated than I ever planned for it to be. Two: Cognitive dissonance and foggy thinking in general is a bitch to write. But hey, ~6500 words isn't so bad for the wait, no? Not to mention a few flashbacks, so I'd say that's pretty good.

I'd advise you to check the update I put on tumblr a few days ago, so you know what's going on with everything. I'm anticipating one more chapter plus an epilogue of sorts? Or maybe just two chapters and no epilogue. I don't know, I'm still working it out.

In any case, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'd love to hear what you thought, so please let me know! Even if it's just a keyboard smash, I'd love to know. As always, feel free to ask questions here or on the tumblr blog, I'll be more likely to give a lengthy and more detailed answer if you choose the latter.

I hope everyone's doing okay, I'm going to bed now, so goodnight!


	19. Struggle, Hope to Survive

Hi! Been a while, I apologize, things have been hectic. I'm currently away from home, and typing on a computer that is not mine. I did a spell check, but again, unfamiliar keyboard, hopefully I caught everything. I'm also running on two hours of sleep, so half of this was transferred from paper to digital while I was doped up on coffee.

Thank you for all your support thus far!

* * *

"Tsukishima?"

Kei is getting sick and tired of all the keys he has to make. He's tired of learning all the things the gods have done, all the things that everyone's done during the war. He doesn't think any different of them, he gets it, all bets are off during war time, but he just wants a moment to process it all. He's heard from Asahi, Tanaka, and Kozume, a few nymphs that were struggling to keep what they saw to themselves, and numerous others.

And now, it's Kuroo.

The God of Death certainly lives up to his name at the moment, Kei doesn't think he's ever seen him so worn out before. His steps are heavy, as though whatever secret he's come to lock up affects him even now.

Kei doesn't like the thought of that at all.

He stands, his bench scraping obscenely loud against the floor, and he fixes his gaze on Kuroo's nose. It's never a good idea to look Kuroo in the eye, not for long anyway.

"What is it?" Kei asks.

"I need a promise before I give you this secret."

Kuroo steps into the room and closes the door behind him. He's without his cloak, the last time Kei saw it, it was covering Akiteru. Instead, Kuroo wears his robes, the same inky black that seems almost liquid. He's without his red adorning chains, hair even more messed than usual without their weight to hold it in some semblance of order. He's leaning heavy on his staff, the gleaming cat's eye seems particularly bright and it serves to set Kei on edge.

"And that is?"

"You're free to blame me all you want, but promise me that you'll attempt to understand why I did it."

Kuroo's expression is one of grief, of a god who's lost everything, eaten away from the inside out.

Tanaka came to him in the early hours of morning, shaking and nearly incoherent, Saeko's bangles clutched so tight in his hands that they cut into his skin. He told Kei how, when he found out about his sister's death, he rampaged, killing any monster in his way. He told Kei that he had a moment of clarity, and captured a number of moderately ranked monster generals, holding them in seclusion, torturing them for the identity of the monster that killed Saeko. He worked his way up and up the ranks until one of them gave up the information he was looking for.

In the eyes of the gods, killing is one thing, torture is another.

Asahi came to him, tears streaming down his face, several weeks without sleep showing in his eyes. He collapsed to his knees in the middle of Kei's workshop, holding Kei's hands tight enough to break the bones. He'd come across a small group of monster, those he assumed were civilians, as they had no magic, no weapons. They were on the outskirts of the war zone, they seemed frightened, utterly defenseless and harmless.

They attacked Saeko shortly after, leaving her with the wound that would kill her.

Whatever Kuroo has to say, Kei can't imagine that he wouldn't understand.

"Of course."

Kuroo takes a shaky breath and steps closer to Kei.

The memory swims into focus and Kei watches with interest to see what has Kuroo so bothered.

It's a spell, one that Kei doesn't recognize.

As God of Death, Kuroo has access to the Grey Matter, a pocket dimension within their realm that houses the dead until they can be reincarnated. In the Grey Matter, deceased gods exist as a collection of lights, swirling languidly within a room that has a door on either end. Kuroo stands in the center, of the room, and Kei surveys the lights around him. The pink lights can only be Saeko, Kei can sense the barest hint of her signature. In the corner, a jumbled mess of soft blue and grey lights moves in lopsided circles. After a moment, Kei identifies it as Akiteru.

Kuroo moves to one of the doors, his spell at his fingertips.

"I'll bring you all back, I promise," he says softly, turning back to face the lights. "I'm not losing anyone else."

Kuroo's spell surges through the door and it breaks. The room dims, and Kei feels off balance. The lights settle, no longer swirling but hovering in clusters.

All at once, everything blurs, time surging forward.

Kuroo swings his scythe, severing a monster in half as he spins. From his left hand comes a bombardment of spells, grey magic blasting from his palm to land against multiple targets. He's backed against a cliff face, blood matting his hair. There's a moment a pause before he waves his scythe in an arch, swinging it above his head and pivoting his back foot. Magic as dark as the night gathers at the end of the scythe blade, creating an afterimage. With a yell, the magic shoots away from him, piercing through the monsters around him.

A moment later, they drop.

Then Kuroo does too.

The same spell from before sends him to the Grey Matter. Or, rather, what used to be the Grey Matter. Severed from their realm as Kuroo had left it, it was cut off from protection. Now, it's nothing but smoking rubble.

There are no lights, not like they were before. A few dots of pink, some scattered green, one spot of blue.

Kei takes a step back, one hand coming up to cover his mouth. His hip hits the corner of a table and he stumbles, but stays standing.

"I- I wanted to bring them back- I could have. The monsters shouldn't have been able to access the Grey Matter. I couldn't save anyone after the first war, and I thought I could this time...Tsukishima, I'm so sorry."

Kuroo's words only faintly reach Kei's ears.

If the Grey Matter was destroyed, the gods inside…

"What will happen?" Kei asks, voice hollow.

Kuroo sinks onto a bench, his staff clattering to the floor.

"They won't be reincarnated. Those that were in the Grey Matter when it was destroyed won't come back. Their aspects will manifest but… I repaired it immediately after, reattached it, so we didn't lose more."

"Who will be reincarnated then?"

"The Sun God, for certain. The others are Minor Gods, so I'm not sure."

* * *

There's a break for a moment, and Kei feels his entire body lurch to the side, he nearly loses his footing.

"Getting tired, kid?" Kuroo asks.

He doesn't look much better than Kei. His robes are so saturated with blood that it drips onto the ground. Kei's surprised he hasn't taken it off yet.

Somehow, they'd ended up in the same spot. Yamaguchi is nearby, so is Yachi, though Kei only knows that the latter is with them from the sound of the ground breaking apart, and the green glow that's doused everything.

"Not at all. How about you, old man?"

Kuroo laughs, spinning his scythe so it's blade to the ground. He leans against it, his shoulders hunched slightly forward.

"You worry about yourself."

Kei rolls his eyes and takes a breath as the next wave rolls in.

Sugawara took a fairly large group to defend the Palace, now that the demons aren't actively fighting alongside them, there's a lot more monsters per god to take care of. Kozume is handling the waterfront, his nymphs and beasts securing the beaches and any land along the rivers and lakes.

Kageyama might have gone with the demons, but Kei isn't completely certain.

"Watch yourself!"

Kuroo's scythe swings in front of Kei, releasing a pulse of grey magic that pushes back a force of incoming monsters long enough to Kei to get his wits back.

He snaps his chains and charges.

Yachi's magic is making the air sharper. She lets out a yell and opens a chasm that swallows up a rather alarming amount of monsters. She closes the chasm with one hand, directing her rapier with her other. She's backed against a boulder, and Kei's about to help when she presses her palm to the stone surface. With a rumbling roar, the boulder comes to life, a faceless, vaguely humanoid _thing_ that acts with a single minded determination.

Yamaguchi's in the air, his armor cloth protecting him from the threats he can't see. His spear is flying, Starlight tip searing the eyes of any monster unlucky enough to gaze upon it. He twists some of his other rings, summoning more spears, the collection dotted with a choice few pikes, and the halberd of the former Constellation God. His magic blazes and a scream tears out of him as the weapons skewer through an entire company of monsters.

"Cover me!"

It's all the warning Kuroo gives before he starts on a spell, leaving him entirely vulnerable.

Yachi is the first to jump to Kuroo's side, she holds her rapier straight out, firing a barrage of pink red magic from the point, her golem settles behind Kuroo, crouching over him slightly. Yamaguchi hovers above Kuroo, directing his weapons without a second thought.

Kei covers the lot of them

He extends his hands and allows his chains to grow and divide further. They take more effort to move this way, but their effect is greater. Kei moves his entire upper body, ignoring the pain beginning to radiate from his shoulders.

They have to be making a dent in the monster forces, they _have_ to be. Kei doesn't remember being this antsy the first go around. Maybe it was because his only goal was to make it out alive. He was more or less on an autopilot of sorts, see a monster and kill it, steps one and two and repeat. At the start, perhaps, he was in his right mind. Before he was separated from his group, before he was on his own, before the monster tore out his wings, Kei probably had his wits about him. But then he was numb and he fought until the war was over and that was it.

Now he's foggy and forcing himself to remember information. Which each crack of his chains, a new god, a new demon, a nymph, a hallway in the Palace, he has to remember. Kei's always been able to remember, he's never been foggy before, and he doesn't like it.

This time, he's fighting with a promise. He told Shouyou he'd come back, so he has to. Because dying isn't an option anymore. And not even just for Shouyou. For Yamaguchi too. There are very few beings that Kei doesn't mind being stuck with for eternity, well, that he's willing to admit.

There's more on the line now.

"Tsukishima!"

One of Kei's chains wrap around Yamaguchi's waist, and another grabs Yachi. As Kei's magic flares, they're encased in light as Kuroo's spell explodes.

Kei watches with hidden interest as the monsters all freeze. They grow pale, taking on a dingy glow before a thunder crack sounds. Half of them drop to the ground, the other half disintegrates. Lights rise from the corpses and go flying towards Kuroo. As they make contact, Kuroo grows brighter and brighter, until Kei has to look away.

He turns his gaze towards the field of corpses.

He promptly falls to the ground, his magic flickering.

It's only for a moment, but that was enough.

Daichi. Sugawara. Kageyama. Kozume. Nishinoya. Oikawa. Yahaba. Kyoutani. Kiyoko. Akiteru. Saeko. Asahi. Aone, Goshiki. Yachi. Natsu. Yamaguchi. Shouyou. Countless others as far as Kei can see, limbs splayed, bones cracked, blood stained, and very much dead.

He blinks and it's over, nothing but a field of already rotting monster corpses.

"Tsukishima!"

Yachi's glowing slightly, a pink light around her body while her eyes shine a vibrant green. A few undercurrents of red crisscross her body, lined in a soft orange, all wrapped up in a layer of white . It takes Kei a moment to realize that he's not seeing Yachi, but her signature.

He blinks hard, removing his glasses to rub his eyes when that doesn't work.

After a few moments, the signature is no longer visible, and Yachi looks even more concerned.

"I'm fine," Kei mumbles.

"You dropped," Yamaguchi says, landing softly on the ground.

"What'd you see, kid?" Kuroo kneels in front of him, eyes filled with something Kei can't place, but the tension in his body is easy enough to see. The God of Death looks very much alive with the new souls he's taken in, any injuries he may have had prior have faded away.

"I said I'm fine." Kei makes himself stand up. "Send a bird to the infirmary."

"What?"

"A bird, send one to Shouyou, ask him if anyone else has come in."

Without another word, Kei snaps his chains and walks in the direction of a strong cluster of signatures.

If he wasn't sure about giving up his wings before, he is now. He would do it in a heartbeat if it meant not seeing that again. He won't let anyone die, he won't allow it.

His magic blazes brighter, drawing from his wings. Soon enough, he's little more than a white hot beacon, practically calling the monsters to him. Footsoldiers and brutes alike come running and Kei snaps his chains once more.

He can do this, he won't give himself a choice. The only option is to fight and come out alive on the other side of this war.

Kei has heard of Demons losing themselves, he's seen one. It's not something he ever wants to see again. The Demon wasn't technically part of Oikawa's personal team, he was family. Kei wasn't supposed to see it happen, he'd been flying, just happened upon the scene.

Demons are old beings, some of the first created. The only difference is what they were made of. Demons are powerful, and the magic that makes up their core can be corrupted by the Demon themself. It tears them up inside, they turn into something else, going through a grotesque metamorphosis. The old practice was to use the corrupted Demons as berserker type warriors.

The new practice is to put them out of their misery.

Kei wonders if this is how those Demons feel. The transformation is generally brought on by a corrupted mind, a corrupted mind brought on by a powerful, intentional shift in thought and personality.

Though, the one Oikawa put down was a definite anomaly.

Logically, Kei knows that gods can't be corrupted like that, though anything is impossible in a realm such as this one, but he figures it's an apt description for his current state of being.

He comes to face to face with a brute big enough to stomp him flat in seconds. It's on all fours, multiple eyes blinking out of sync, no weapons save for the claws that are as long as Kei is tall. It lets out a guttural roar, one foreleg sweeping towards Kei in an arc.

Kei throws up a temporary shield, just enough to take the brunt of the monster's force, before using his chains to propel him upwards. He lands on the monster's back, his hands filling with dark blue magic. Once they're glowing, Kei plunges his hands through the monster's skin.

The magic explodes, bursting from inside the monster's body, dousing Kei's body in blood and dead magic. The monster takes a few moments to hit the ground, and Kei jumps off before it does.

He loses himself in the fight, loses his glasses too, but he doesn't need to see well to cut down monsters.

The monsters grow numerous, and Kei finds himself surrounded on all fronts. He keeps up a wall of magic to guard his back, but the constant spinning is making him dizzy.

A red light flashes overhead, and Yamaguchi drops down in front of him. He uses his spears to cut back enough monsters to give them breathing room. But there's no time to trade words.

There's something off about Yamaguchi's signature, something shaky.

"Kei, I need you to cover me."

Yamaguchi doesn't give him much time to react, he drops to the ground and glows brighter than he has in lifetimes. Kei swings his chains in a full circle, clearing a space for a heartbeat before more monsters spill in.

Then Yamaguchi's floating, a constellation poised to possess him. Too little too late, Kei realizes what the constellation is.

The beast crashes down and Kei jumps out of the way, diving and just barely clearing the claws.

The constellation is an old one, the first one to possess Yamaguchi. They'd come to the agreement that he'd never use this constellation again. It's a hybrid beast, fangs too big for its mouth, too many eyes, too many legs, and absolutely unhinged.

It lets out a scream and Kei can't block it out. He drops to his knees, hands over his ears.

The constellation is dangerous, lacking any sort of boundaries or awareness. Yamaguchi's control is limited, and cutting of the constellation is difficult and life threatening. The beast would go after a god if it was closer than a monster.

So Kei moves as far as he dares, looking out over the trees to see if there are any gods in the vicinity. After a moment, he catches sight of Yachi, Kuroo nowhere in sight. She's surrounded, her golems are doing their best but it's not enough. Kei sends out his chains, looping them around her waist and pulling her to him.

"Thank you," she says, nearly doubling over. She's exhausted, certainly, Kei can't blame her. It's only been a short time since he's seen her last, but she's sporting a new bruise on her left hand, and the armor over her right shoulder is missing.

"I-Is that Yamaguchi?"

The beast possessing Yamaguchi rampages through the hordes of monsters, shredding them to pieces or sending them airborne only to bat them back to the ground. The ridges along its back just barely crest the treetops, inside it, Yamaguchi is miniscule.

"Yes."

"I've never seen that one before."

"You weren't supposed to. It's dangerous, he's not supposed to use it."

The beast breaks into a run, away from the clearing and into the trees.

"Yachi."

"Got it."

She presses her palms to the ridge they're standing on and a golem comes to life. Kei and Yachi stand on it's shoulders and it takes off after Yamaguchi's beast.

The beast crushes those monsters that it comes across, but it seems to have another goal in mind.

"Where's he going?"

"I don't know."

It travels further South, Yachi's golem is only barely keeping up. It finally stops in the midst of an overflowing battle field. At the center, Ushijima is doing his best against the biggest brute Kei has ever seen. It's ancient, nearly have the size of Yamaguchi's constellation.

Much to Kei's disgust, it's wielding chains. Of course, they're nothing like his, they're clunky and thick, hand held loops, and they're void of magic.

Like it's a second thought, the brute knocks Ushijima aside and into a group of monsters.

Without hesitation, Yachi leaps off the golem. Green magic at her hands, stones erupt from the ground, surging up to create a barricade around Ushijima. Yachi helps him to his feet before she turns each stone into a golem.

Kei returns his attention to the brute, covering his ears as Yamaguchi's beast lets out another screech.

It's odd, the brute almost seems to know the beast. But Kei gives it no further thought, jumping into the frenzy.

Given his short reprieve, Ushijima's back up and fighting. Kei darts just close enough to put a gash on his shoulder in stasis. Yachi's golems have thinned out the force of monsters to a manageable level.

Kei's mind goes on autopilot, he swings his chains, channeling magic and drawing from both his blessing and his wings.

He just wants this to be over, he doesn't want to this to drag on forever. He wonders if the demons are alive, if they've made any headway since Kei last saw them. A combined force of Oikawa, Iwaizumi and Kageyama will drive a wedge, get their foot in the door at least. Yahaba's portals should allow them the element of surprise, and a degree of safety, even if it's only jumping back a few paces to avoid the strike of a sword.

They've practiced offensive maneuvers with Yahaba's portals before. He stands back, afforded one guard, and fills a space with portals, allowing only only those he deems fit to pass through them. It's a useful, if somewhat complicated strategy.

Kei hopes it's serving them well.

Then there's the duo of Hanamaki and Matsukawa, terrors those two. If there's one that Kei's genuinely concerned for, it's Kyoutani. Despite his gifted title, the demon is overzealous in battle, frenzied to the point of bloodlust. He's at the highest risk for corruption. Oikawa's already had to put down his own nephew, having to do the same to Kyoutani would likely tip the scale keeping Oikawa balanced.

Yamaguchi's beast is consumed with the brute, he's winning, for now, so Kei deals with the more pressing issue of monster foot soldiers intent on tearing his body apart.

It's like he told Sugawara, quantity over quality.

There had been whispers near the end of the last war that the monsters were looking into ways to artificially create more soldiers. If this is the product of those whispers, Sugawara will be more enraged than he has been in Kei's living memory.

The constellation shrieks again, claws puncturing the brute, pinning it to the ground. It keeps screeching, a long sustained noise that is nothing but rage.

"Tsukishima!" Yachi yells.

She's perched on a golem, conducting her magic with feverish concentration.

"You need to bring him back!"

"The screaming is attracting more monsters!" Ushijima's voice barely carries through the air.

Kei looks out over the trees, and sure enough, there's a rush of signatures coming out them from multiple directions.

"Okay then," Kei mumbles to himself. He sends out a barrage to give himself time to launch into the air. He wraps his chains around one of the constellation's ridges and swings himself on top of it.

The beast screams again, trying to throw Kei off.

"Come on, Yamaguchi."

The brute goes flying as the constellation rears back. Kei nearly loses his footing, both hands indisposed as he uses his chains to hold on. For one moment, he allows himself to be bitter about not having his wings.

He sends out some strains, winding them around the beat in a loose harness. Kei regains his footing for a split second before the beast jumps and spins in mid air.

Kei is falling, and he has just enough sense to throw up a layer of magic before pain explodes across his back.

The ground rushes towards him and all he can think of is that day on the beach, blood staining his back, feathers falling around him. The ocean is opening up, ready to swallow him whole before something knocks him into the sand-

He doesn't hit the ground but his vision whites out. His senses are screaming at him, everything hypersensitive. It's the worst pain Kei has felt, a fire eating him alive from the inside.

Kei feels broken, and he can't move.

Something like a thunderclap brings everything back into focus.

He's on the ground, Yachi kneeling at his left side Ushijima standing at his right. Everything is tinted orange, and Kei can't figure out why until he looks further.

"Your Guardian Deity has arrived."

Nishinoya has enclosed them in a shield or orange magic, it's holding steady against the monsters. Outside, Yamaguchi's constellation has taken a newfound interest in the footsoldiers.

"Tsukishima, can you move?" Nishinoya asks.

The only thing Kei can think of is all the time that Yamaguchi spent in the infirmary.

"I have to get him, he can't be in there for much longer."

Kei nearly whites out again as he tries to move, but he pushes it back. WIth Yachi's help, he manages to sit up. He winds some of his chains around him to keep him sitting straight.

"I'll call a platform for you," Yachi says.

"No."

Kei gathers his magic, nearly manifesting his blessing.

"Nishinoya, let down the shield, Yachi, cover me. I can manage a wave to knock back the monsters so you two can handle them." The last part he addresses to Nishinoya and Ushijima.

"At least let me call a platform for Yamaguchi," Yachi presses.

Kei nods and she pulls a paper bird from a pocket in her vest. It takes on a pink glow and slips through Nishinoya's shield. The Guardian Deity lets out a sigh and kneels down in front of Kei.

"Are you sure? You took that hit pretty hard."

"I'm fine, I need to get Yamaguchi out of there."

Nishinoya shares a look with Ushijima before nodding. The second he lets down the shield, Kei lets out his magic. Ushijima leaps into battle, Nishinoya following closely. Yachi raises herself and Kei up on a small golem made from the dirt and roots below them.

Kei can barely focus, the pain is eating away at him, his vision blurring. He won't question why such a blow didn't kill him, there's no way his layer of magic was enough, it was too weak, put up too quickly.

With shaky hands, Kei directs his magic toward the beast. He weaves it around, loose, not touching the constellation until he's finished. Then, he pulls tight, the strands of magic pull the beast to the ground, but Yamaguchi's not back yet, so Kei pulls tighter. The beast manages to leap into the air and Kei nearly goes with it. He draws more magic from his wings, pulls too hard from his blessing.

His magic goes white and Kei's entire body goes numb.

He almost loses his grip, and Yamaguchi's falling from the sky.

"Yachi-"

"I got him."

A root bursts from the ground, looping around Yamaguchi's body and gently bringing him back down. Yamaguchi is pale, his stars dim, but his signature is steady enough, no hint of corruption, but he's weak. Yachi slips something between Yamaguchi's sashes, not a bird, but something else made of paper.

Yaku arrives a few moments later with a platform. The golem puts down a hand so Yaku can climb on, taking him higher to where Kei and Yachi sit with Yamaguchi.

"Tsukishima-"

"Just take Yamaguchi."

"I really think you should come t-"

"Take him."

With a worried look, Yaku puts Yamaguchi on the platform and the golem gives them a little shove. The platform glides through the air long enough for Yaku to land on the ground and guide it to the Palace.

Kei puts his back in the heaviest stasis he can manage, wrapping a few chains around his body for support. Yachi's golem is tall enough to step on the foot soldiers, and keep them out of harm's way for a little while longer.

"Tsukishima," she says, "this fell with you."

She opens up her empty space and pulls something out.

Formerly unblemished, Akiteru's shield boasts three deep gouges, ragged and just barely breaking through the metal. It's dented heavily, but otherwise still intact.

How strange.

Even now, after so much time, Akiteru's looking after him.

It's a comforting thought, and Kei would rather think that than shove his feelings aside with logic as he usually does.

Without a word, Kei puts the shield into his empty space. Yachi helps him stand up, biting her lip when Kei nearly falters.

There aren't as many monsters as there were before, Kei is grateful for that, he doesn't think he could fight as viciously as he'd need to.

With Nishinoya, they clear the area quickly."

"Why are you out here, Noya?" I'm grateful, I swear, but you're a Guardian, so why…" Yachi is sitting on the shoulder of a smaller golem, repairing the damage to the ground.

"Asahi came in without his hammers, I went to find them," he says after a moment.

Kei feels incompetent for not noticing the hammers hanging from Nishinoya's sash. He eases to the ground, his chains going slack, and listens as Nishinoya continues.

"And, also to find whoever hurt him."

There's nothing but silence.

"But, uh, Ryuu got it first, I found the corpse and it had traces of Asahi's signature on it. Um, I stayed out here, I didn't want to go back, you know? It's weird seeing Asahi laid up like that."

Ushijima nods and Yachi bites her lip. Nishinoya just smiles, a sad smile that looks entirely out of place on his face.

"Anyway," Nishinoya clears his throat, "this area is clear, now, so what next?"

The numbness in Kei's back is fading, the stunning pain taking its place. He hates it, but there's work to be done.

"We need to keep going-"

"You are in no shape to be moving," Ushijima cuts him off.

In an act of childish defiance, Kei channels an unnecessarily large amount of magic into his back, a combination of stasis and numbness.

With more difficulty than anticipated, Kei stands up.

"I can manage."

* * *

So, yeah, that happened. Some more Yachi, guest stars Kuroo, Ushijima and Nishinoya, some injured Yamaguchi, some self destructive Kei, oh yeah.

In all seriousness though, I hope you all liked it. You can expect Natsu to make a reappearance soon, just throwing that out there. I keep changing my projected chapter count, but we'll definitely go over twenty.

I'll post an update on the tumblr blog pretty soon, get some stuff straightened out. As always, I'd love to here your thoughts, any predictions, questions, here or on tumblr.

I hope you all have a great day!


	20. The Return

Almost at the end of this train wreck, folks!

* * *

Ushijima doesn't believe him, but he understands the urgency of the situation.

"Let me see, I might be able to do something," Yachi says.

Kei lets her stand behind him, small fingers dancing across his back. There's a sudden squeeze around his midsection and any breath he's holding flies out of him. Sinewy vines wrap around his torso, some across his shoulders and around his waist to act as a sort of brace for his back.

"It should keep you from damaging it as fast, at least it- it should last you until this is over," she says.

The vines are thin, but they're strong enough, and flexible. He moves a little, the pain still remains but he can't feel anything shifting out of place.

"It's bonded to your skin, so it won't go anywhere."

Well, that explains the strange sensation in his lower back.

Nishinoya nods, resting his hands on Asahi's hammers. He takes Yachi and they head out, leaving the next stretch of land to the South in Ushijima and Kei's hands.

"There is no sense in pushing yourself past your limit," Ushijima says as they begin walking. "There are people you must return to, destroying yourself in this way is perhaps the stupidest course of action you could take."

Kei doesn't want to hear this. Not from Ushijima of all people. The God of Peace has no business telling Kei to take care of himself. Ushijima nearly burned his magic away from the inside out in the last war. Daichi couldn't figure out what was wrong with him at first, he was physically fine, it was his core that was the issue. He'd put such a strain on his magic that he'd nearly fallen into a coma all on his own.

He has no right to lecture Kei on the way he's handling himself.

"You want to return to them, don't you?"

Ushijima doesn't bother clarifying who 'them' is, and part of that ticks Kei off just a bit. Was it all that transparent? Was he the only one unaware? It seems that way.

The answer should come easily. It should be a 'yes, of course, how could you question that?' but the words don't come.

Technically, yes. Kei wants to survive this. He wants to go back to the Palace. He wants to see Yamaguchi, and Shouyou, and Kageyama, and Natsu, and Yachi, and everyone else. He wants to move his workshop back into the Spire, become a part of the Palace once again. He wants to wake up to Bokuto singing from the highest points of their home. He wants to sit in Kiyoko's gardens and read the books and records that have existed since before he manifested. He wants to train in the proper fields, see the smoke billowing from the forge, and the glimmering layers of protection surrounding the Palace.

There a few bumps in that plan though.

It had been Semi's idea, and he'd been backed by several of the others. An animated room in the center of the Palace is home to numerous portraits. Any and all gods, demons, nymphs, shapeshifters, and other allied beings who have died are immortalized in a portrait. For those beings predating Semi, Akaashi provided images from within his World Room. They wait there, inside a frame, their portion of the wall home to a chance few reels of memory provided by Kuroo. Due to the issue of the Grey Matter in the last war, Kei had provided the memories for Akiteru, and Tanaka had provided memories for Saeko.

Should Kei return to the Palace, he doesn't think he'll be able to resist the allure of that room. Logically, Kei knows that it's just a picture. He already talks to Akiteru's armor, he can't imagine what he'd say if he was presented with an accurate likeness.

His brother may as well have survived. The feeling of him will continue to exist within the Palace for as long as it stands. It's not some inanimate building made of stone and metal. It is a living thing, one that draws on its inhabitants, it learns, it holds onto things. Akiteru spent half of his life in the Palace, and it's held onto him even now.

Then there's the matter of living in close proximity with the very Demons he'd duped for a number of lifetimes. Part of him hopes they never forgive him for lying to them. The other part won't rest until he's heard forgiveness from each of them. He allowed them to believe that their king was dead, that he'd been murdered by monsters. He had allowed their hate to fester far beyond healthy levels. And, Kei knows that it technically isn't his fault. He wasn't the one who made the deal, or brought Oikawa to the prison. He wasn't the one who faked the death of a friend, he wasn't the one who put him to sleep. But Kei spelled the room, he locked the whole ordeal up in a handful of keys. He enabled the situation, disappeared intermittently to check on their unknowing prisoner.

If he'd not, war would have broken out once again. Looking back on it now, it had been pointless. The monsters found out anyways, all the imprisonment had done was buy them a few lifetimes worth of uneasy peace.

Kei promised Shouyou he'd return, Shouyou had told him to. His sash sits tight around Kei's middle, hidden by Yachi's brace. But it's there. A big part of him will do everything he can just to get back, Kei refuses to break his promise. But there's a bigger part of him that won't stop screaming.

Screaming because his world is upside down.

Screaming because nothing makes sense.

Screaming because he can barely take care of himself.

Screaming because the being he exists as feels strikingly fleeting.

Kei stops walking.

The Moon God will return from the war, he'll arrive at the Palace for healing, awake, and carry on in an unending existence. There is no doubt about that. The question is whether the Moon God and Kei will continue being synonymous.

Whether he's doubting because of his fight with the monster who took his wings, or the fog that had settled over his mind following, or even the extent of his injuries trying to cut Yamaguchi off from his constellation, he's unsure.

He doesn't know anymore.

"Tsukishima."

"I just want this to end, whatever it takes."

They keep moving, Yachi's brace has grown a handful of flowers by the time they encounter their first group of monsters. There's only three of them, but all three are brutes from a high enough caliber to make Kei worry.

Ushijima adjusts his weapons and takes a deep breath.

Ushijima's weapons had been customized just for him. He'd drawn up the designs and given them to Kageyama, who promptly rejected them. So Ushijima redesigned them and tried again. The two went back and forth until they came to an agreement. Ushijima is a powerhouse, and he is a close combat fighter.

Similar to gauntlets in a way, the weapons are composed of bands of metal that attach around Ushijima's wrists, forearms, and biceps. Over them lays an almost fluid sort of metal to shield his arms. The metal spreads of the tops of his hands, and from it extends razor sharp claws roughly the length between elbow and wrist. The weapons act as conductors for Ushijima's magic as well, working as extensions of his ability.

It's one of Kageyama's more eclectic projects, but they suit Ushijima well enough.

Kei snaps his chains, rolling one of his shoulders to check the brace. The monsters catch sight of them a moment after, drawn by the noise. The second they turn, Ushijima leaps forward, claws angled for the sliver of skin visible between the monster's helmet and chest plate.

While the other two are distracted by Ushijima's movements, Kei extends his chains and sends them high in the air. The ends sharpen to points, and he drives them down as fast as he can. The enchanted metal bites through the monsters' armor, pinning them fast to the ground.

One drops immediately, the other simply looks mildly perturbed. It looks Kei in the eye and phases through the chains.

It's the flint strike that sends Kei flying through the air, magic at his fingertips. With one hand, he grabs the monster's breastplate and jerks it forward. His second hand is encased in nearly white magic, cold enough to start the spread of ice along the monster's body.

Kei drives his second hand forward with as much force as he can manage, and doesn't stop until he realizes that it has broken through the entirety of the monster's body.

"Try coming back from that," Kei whispers, letting go of the armor. The monster stands on its own for a heartbeat before it crumples.

"-ima! Tsukishima!"

He turns, attention now hyperfocused on the upcoming wave that Ushijima is pointing to.

"If it starts to go bad, retreat. We'll split up," Kei yells.

Ushijima doesn't like the plan, Kei doesn't expect him to. But this is too many monsters for just the two of them. Maybe, if Kei had trained with Ushijima more, he could have developed a strategy. But as they are, Kei doesn't know enough about the extent of Ushijima's abilities to come up with anything that could definitely work.

He won't enact a half baked plan on such a low success rate.

And Ushijima knows it.

Kei starts with a barrage of magical blasts, going so far as to knock down a number of trees to slow the monster's progress. It's a marginally successful effort, and Kei jots down a mental note to apologize to Asahi for the trees once this is over.

He loses sight of Ushijima fairly quickly, about the time his already blurred vision starts to go black around the edges. Yachi's brace is keeping him upright, and it seems to be sentient in some form or another, because it tightens or loosens when he needs it to and it begins to grow. It slips inside a small tear in the sleeve of his armor cloth when something twinges in his arm.

The battle magic enveloping him does very little to deter the monsters around him, so Kei resorts to wrapping his chains around a number of footsoldiers and swinging them around into the oncoming forces for a few moments.

His chains continue to multiply, he loses count after a while. He won't admit it aloud, but quantity of quality does seem to work, at least in this moment.

When his fighting changes from offense to defense, Kei cuts his losses.

He draws from his wings to create a temporary voided space around himself to hide his signature. Then, he drives his chains out, cutting through the immediate threats. He lets their dead bodies back up the living behind them. He uses his chains to propel him, taking a moment to locate Ushijima's signature moving off in the opposite direction.

And he runs.

It doesn't sit well with him, running away. But it's either that or die in the middle of a monster horde. Maybe if he were in better shape, in body and mind, he would have stayed. But most of his focus is on keeping his back in one piece, though Yachi's brace is certainly helping. The other part of his focus is working to completely rid his head of whatever is making it so muddled.

He's right on the borderline for a healing coma.

Kei slows down once he's sure he's put enough distance between himself and the horde. He can feel himself shaking, his hands are unsteady, the muscles in his legs are twitching, and his vision is still black around the edges.

He leans against a tree to take a moment to try and collect himself.

Fighting in the forest is much more preferable to fighting in the flat snowy lands of the North. Within the forest, the trees provide cover, provide rest places. They narrow down fighting spaces, and all the life can aid in obscuring signatures from those not as versed in the ability. Kei hated fighting in the North, it was nothing but snow, no places to hide. He'd made use of ice traps, but he didn't like the vulnerability.

The forest is where he feels the most comfortable.

When he opens his eyes, night has finally begun its descent. It's been daytime for ages now, Akaashi is still slowing time, but night finally gets its turn in the sky.

His legs give out a moment later.

Kei resigns himself to his new temporary home on the forest floor and leans forward to rest his forehead against the tree. The breaths he breathes are unsteady, he chokes on one and devolves into a coughing fit.

He doesn't know how long he sits there, but it's early night for the entirety of the time. His mind turns over and he tries to sort through it, but it's all too much of a mess.

The exhaustion starts to hit him, rolling in like waves smacking Kei into the sand without regard to his well being. It radiates out. His body is shaking so hard it hurts, he can't hold still, and sharp spikes of pain burst all over.

He's stuck like that, convulsing beneath an ancient tree, until the fit passes.

Kei stays still, an irrational thought possessing him for a short while, telling him that if he moves even a breath, the convulsions will come back. But they don't, and Kei works himself back up to a standing position.

Maybe he really should get back to the Palace.

He almost misses it.

A wave of green light rolls over the sky, bringing with it the smell of rotting flesh.

Kei slaps his hand over his mouth and nose to keep from retching.

Shortly after, another wave of light follows, this one in a lighter shade of green, and there is no smell. One by one, more waves of green light roll overhead, growing lighter and lighter as they go.

Kei uses his chains to pull himself up into the tree. Once perched as high as he can while staying stable, he tries to pinpoint the source of the light. He no longer has his glasses, so his endeavour is impossible.

He turns to see massive bunches of green lights rising from the trees. They swirl in the air, growing dark and muddy before shooting back down.

It takes Kei's addled brain longer than it should to put the pieces together.

They did it?

It's anti climactic, part of him refuses to process what's going on. But more and more lights erupt over the treetops only to plummet back down moments later. The monsters are tied to their elders, as that is how they are given life, it is bestowed upon them. That was the plan; kill the elders, the rest will die shortly after. If that is indeed what is happening now, that Oikawa and his team have won. Kageyama has won.

Kei won't dwell on the possibility that any of the demons have died. He's sure he would have heard Oikawa if that was the case, or felt the anguish. And he hasn't, so they must all be alive, he can't say if they're injured or not.

But they _have_ to be alive.

Have to be.

Slowly, Kei climbs back down, breathing in deep once his feet are on the ground. That proves to be a bad idea as he falls into another coughing fit, that breath catching his throat.

Something cracks and Kei freezes.

That's not right.

One shaky hand rises to his chest, dragging his chains with it. The bands of Yachi's brace peel back, allowing him to press his fingers against his skin.

The pain that swirls to life is hot and sharp and it bursts out of his chest before radiating out to the rest of his body. There's a definite break in his chestplate, and he'd bet that there are more networks of fissures in his ribs.

Everything goes black.

* * *

"-shima? Tsukishima? You have to wake up, please. I can't bring you back to Shouyou like this."

Kei feels blurry, disembodied. He can't see anything, his hearing is muffled as if through a wall, and part of him wants to stay blurry because he knows that pain is waiting for him outside of that feeling.

"Tsukishima, let me know you're alive, at the very least. Please, you have to be alive."

Kei tries to move his fingers, flex his toes, shake his head, _something._ He has no sensation in his body. He can't see it to make sure it's moving, can't even tell that it is moving.

Apparently it does something, because he can hear a muffled sigh of relief. It sounds like Kageyama, and he can't sense signatures so it would make sense that he needs physical confirmation that Kei is alive.

"Thank you."

A dull weight lands on his chest and the blurry feeling ebbs away for a moment, lighting Kei's body up. The weight disappears, and the blurriness returns.

"Sorry."

Kei fears that Kageyama has left him when a stretch of silence runs on too long.

"We won, Kei, we did it. They're gone, we can go home now. I didn't think I'd find you here."

Kei doesn't know where Kageyama got the idea to him by his name, but he can't exactly say anything about it right now. Being found by Kageyama isn't something he expected. He must have been in the general area surrounding the monsters' base. How Kageyama found him is a question he can dwell on later.

He's glad that it's not someone else though. Kageyama's already seen him weak, Kei doesn't have much else to lose in terms of pride at this moment.

"You can't walk, can you?"

Kei wants to slap him.

"This will probably hurt."

In a detached sort of way, Kei knows that Kageyama is lifting him up, likely to piggyback him. But that sensation is wiped up as the blurriness goes away completely.

It's all consuming, traveling from his chest to the base of his skull then shooting down his spine, lighting up his nerve endings before racing along down his legs. It circles back, snatching Kei's focus and ability to process. All he can think about is how much this hurts. The exhaustion is throttled out by the fire racing along his shoulders, which is overtaken by the electric storm swirling to life in his head. It cycles out, one type of pain for another, and Kei is desperately trying to stay awake.

Maybe he's already faded, and he's stuck in some halfway point.

He really hopes that's not the case.

He can't hear Kageyama anymore, but that's because a high pitched whine is singing away anything else.

It's too much. Too much stimulus and Kei doesn't want any of it.

"I know it hurts, but you have to stay awake, please."

Kageyama's voice just barely breaks through the whine and Kei latches onto it as a focal point.

"Let me."

It's a new voice, deeper, rumbling.

Ushijima?

The pain doesn't go away, but it doesn't grow worse. Kei is left in a limbo, sitting on the ledge. Below him is the embrace of quiet, where he sits is the static and the fire and the neverending waves and winds intent on destroying him.

He stays on the ledge.

"We should hurry."

He doesn't know which of them said it, only that he wishes they'd hurry and get him to the Palace.

Time means absolutely nothing to him in this state, he can't even focus enough to measure the talking happening around him. He catches something about the elders, Kindaichi's hand, Iwaizumi's gauntlets, a brush with death for either Kyoutani or Kunimi, and something about a serious injury. What he gathers in full, is that nobody died.

Kei doesn't bother putting his energy toward figuring out much more than that.

Everything comes in fuzzy afterword anyway.

He knows when they make it to the Palace, a song of mourning and joy rings out from his heart as he's brought inside. The Palace will always sing when they return.

From the sudden jumps in pain and their locations, Kei figures he's being laid out on a cot. There are too many voices overlapping, too many signatures crowded in one space. He can pinpoint Daichi's voice, and holds onto that when the word 'wings' slips out.

Daichi's talking to Kageyama about something.

He doesn't get too long to dwell on what it is because a warmth falls over him, sending him into the comforting arms of Daichi's healing magic.

* * *

Kei knows he should wake up.

If he wakes up then he can see Yamaguchi, and he can see Shouyou. Well, maybe Yamaguchi won't be awake yet.

Regardless, Kei can feel his wings again, the feathers brushing against his shoulders. The weight of them is just as he remembered them to be, heavy and sure.

Daichi's healing comas are supposed to feel like nothing, so Kei must be in a moderate stasis, just on the cusp of waking. He had a wound to his side, the damage from Yamaguchi's constellation, the cracked chestplate and ribs, his back as a whole, what else?

Magical exhaustion, Kei imagines that's the worst bit.

All that totaled together, he must have been under for a month and a half at the very least. Daichi must have put him deep under to replenish his magic.

It's nice though, Daichi's stasis has always been vastly preferable. There's something about the magic, comforting and all encompassing.

As opposed to Kei's version of stasis, which is freezing and intensely localized, he likes Daichi's more.

This particular ghost feeling is nothing new. Kei's woken to feel his wings countless times. Occasionally, it will last even after he's opened his eyes, just long enough for him to catch a glimpse of the feathers.

Under this particular circumstance, Kei can pretend that time has turned back, that he's in the infirmary after the last war, his wings still intact. Akiteru might still be alive, though that may be pushing the pretense too far.

It would be nice though.

If he's this conscious in though, the stasis must be close to over. He'll wake up soon.

His head feels clearer, no longer muddled. Unfortunately, until he's completely out of stasis, his memories of these past events will drift in and out.

Kei knows they'll have a number of beings in healing comas, but he's putting all his hope into the idea that no one has died.

He feels the stasis slipping away, and he holds onto the feeling of his wings.

"Daichi, he's awake."

Kei can't place the voice right away, but after a few moments of deliberation, he comes to the conclusion that it's Sugawara.

"Tsukishima? Stay laying down for a moment."

When Kei opens his eyes, he realizes he's not on a bed, nor is he on his back. He's face down, hovering over an infirmary bed. A and on his lower back, and another at his shoulder turn him around so he's face up.

"Here, Sugawara made you a new pair of glasses, you lost your others out there."

Daichi settles the glasses on his face and the world swims into focus.

Sugawara and Daichi stand on either side of him, blocking his view of the other infirmary cots. He isn't sitting up, he can't see anything else besides them and the ceiling.

"Hang on, let me run one more scan, then you can sit up. Your back was a mess when Kageyama and Ushijima brought you in," Daichi says. "I don't want you putting any stress on it until I'm sure it will be okay."

Kei has no doubts in Daichi's healing ability, but that doesn't mean Daichi feels the same way.

He finds himself face down again, and his back seizes up as Daichi starts working.

"We didn't lose anyone," Sugawara says quietly, "I know that's what you're thinking about. Asahi and Terushima are in long term healing comas, as is Kuroo. Goshiki and Semi are in short term, they should be waking soon enough. Chikara is pretty roughed up, he'll be okay after a short time in a deep stasis. Kyoutani's been busy fixing everyone's prosthetics. Akaashi's exhausted and Bokuto's taking care of him. Yamaguchi woke a few days ago, he's still under observation, but we haven't seen any corruption, so we sent him home. Oikawa's team is all right. Kunimi was touch and go for a while, but they're all okay. Most everyone else has recovered from their injuries by now."

Kei nods, relieved beyond words.

Daichi finishes his diagnostic and arranges Kei into a sitting position before removing the magic keeping him afloat.

"We're also allowing everyone to keep their blessings for a while," Sugawara continues. "Once we're well past Shouyou's initiation, we'll take them back up."

"Tsukishima?" Daichi doesn't sound as tired as Kei expects, he sounds cautious right now, as if tiptoeing around what he wishes to talk about.

"Hm?"

"Both Kageyama and Yamaguchi informed us that you got your wings back, and that they were perfectly whole. If you want me to, I'm sure I can graft them back on. I'd have to run your magic through the break site and reattach them, I'd also have readjust your spine and shoulders a bit- You'd have to relearn to fly, but...you'll be able to."

Kei blinks slowly, processing.

"We know how much this means to you," Sugawara says.

He could get his wings back? It has to be a dream, he's still in stasis. There's no way that Kei could be so lucky. That everyone survived, that they won the war, that he could _fly_ again, it's too much. There's _no way_. Even getting this far, surviving this long, he can't believe it.

"Tsukishima?"

Sugawara places a hand on his shoulder.

Kei realizes that he's started crying and he hurries to wipe his face.

"I'm fine," he says.

Sugawara only looks more concerned.

He's not wearing his gloves, but that's not the most surprising part. Kei's seen the marks on Sugawara's hands and arms, thick red bands that wind about his skin. But Kei can't see them anywhere below his elbow, and Sugawara is wearing a vest. His skin is dark red, solid from the tips of his fingers and up to his elbows before fading to its normal tone. The bands are still there, visible above the new stain.

Kei tears his gaze away when Daichi says his name.

"It will take time, and it will be painful. It will take Sugawara's assistance to be perfect, but it's possible.

"Would I be asleep following?"

"Yes, so your body and magic can bond properly to your wings."

"How long?"

"I'm not sure, it depends on how well the pr-"

"I need to think about it."

Kei doesn't miss the look that Daichi and Sugawara share.

"Of course."

"You're free to go, I'm sure Yamaguchi and Shouyou will be happy to see you," Sugawara closes his eyes a moment and Kei can see the faintest glow from behind his eyelids. "Yamaguchi is at your workshop, and Shouyou is here in his room. Yahaba can take you home if you wish."

Kei's still dressed in his battle garb, though the tears have been fixed, the garment still boasts visible blood stains. Yachi's brace is gone, and his sashes are still around his middle.

"Workshop," Kei says.

Sugawara nods and summons Yahaba who spends a few minutes holding a one sided conversation with Kei about how he's alive.

Kei winces as he steps through the portal.

"I'll come back when you're ready."

Yahaba leaves and Kei rests his palm on the front door.

He closes his eyes and breathes deep. Down the cliff, along the beach, the waves lap at the sand, calm. Time has resumed its usual pace, so the sun will go down soon, Shouyou's favorite moon will be visible shortly after.

Kei pushes the door open and summons the key to the artifact room. He pulls Akiteru's shield from the empty space and settles it on a stand beside Saeko's armor. One by one, he unties his sashes. He lays Akiteru's over the top of the shield before he hangs his own beside them. The sash from his war is a curious shade, one that exists between blue, green, and grey.

He keeps Shouyou's sash in hand, and leaves the room without so much as a backward glance, locking the door behind him and vanishing the key.

Once in his own room, he vanishes his battle garb and changes into a tied sleeve tunic and a cloak. He folds Shouyou's sash and slips it into his pocket.

His wings are still in the empty space, he resists the urge to take them out.

Now dressed, he moves about the house until he comes to stand in front of Yamaguchi's workroom. He raises a hand to knock, and a moment before his skin makes contact with the door, it opens.

Yamaguchi has his arms around Kei in an instant. Kei returns the hug without question, searching Yamaguchi's signature for even a hint of corruption.

He finds no such traces.

"That was stupid," Kei says. "You should have never touched that constellation again."

"I know, Tsuki, I know. But hey, I survived, didn't I?"

Kei only hugs him harder.

"I was staying up until you got back," Yamaguchi says. "Go say hi to Shouyou while I catch up. We're all going down the beach once the moon is up, I promised Yachi."

Kei walks Yamaguchi to his room, hugging him one last time before making his way outside. Yahaba is just stepping through a portal when he does so, and he deposits Kei right at Shouyou's door.

Kei has half a mind to tell him off but Yahaba's already gone. He actually gets to knock on the door this time, and he takes a small amount of joy in the startled crash he hears on the other side.

The door flies open, revealing a visible tired Shouyou.

His wings are fully extended behind him, his eyes alight. He grabs Kei's hands and pulls him inside before jumping up and locking his legs around Kei's waist.

"You're awake!" he cries.

Shouyou's wings flutter before enclosing the both of them. Surprisingly, the heat isn't unbearable.

"You're so stupid! Tobio told me what you did! And Daichi and Suga told me you overworked yourself! I can't believe you!"

Kei blinks slowly, taking in the fact that Shouyou is saying all this while repeatedly giving him kisses all over his face.

"You're supposed to be smart! And you go and do that!"

Shouyou buries his face in Kei's neck, boiling tears splashing onto Kei's skin. His wings unfurl, stretching out a moment before laying against his back.

"I was so worried that you'd be asleep for a long time. Daichi said you could have died! But he told me you'd wake up eventually, and you're here, but you could have- Kei, you could have died."

"I'm sorry for worrying you." It's all Kei can think to say. Slowly, he eases his way to the floor, holding Shouyou in his lap while the smaller god continues to cry. "I did promise I'd come back though."

Kei spares one arm from Shouyou to pull the sash from his pocket

Shouyou takes note of the moment and he sits up once he sees the sash. He lets go of Kei's lapel to accept it. He unfolds it, holding each end and looking over it.

"It didn't get torn?"

Kei arches a brow and looks down to inspect the sash. He hadn't noticed.

He shakes his head.

Shouyou sets the sash beside him on the floor and takes Kei's hands in his.

Just for a moment, Kei looks into Shouyou's eyes. It's the unshed tears that do it, make Kei lean forward. Soft and chaste is the best he can manage, and it's enough for Shouyou, who smiles so wide that Kei has to move back.

"Hey, Kei?" Shouyou asks, leaning down to rest his head against Kei's chest.

"What is it?"

"If I tell you 'i love you', will you get upset?"

"No."

The word slips out before Kei can even think, but he figures it's for the best.

"Good, because I do."

"What?"

"I love you."

* * *

I said I was gonna get this up on the 21st and it's a bit past midnight, I tried.

Well, here we are! Depending on the responses from this chapter, I'll either go straight for the epilogue, or there will be one more story chapter plus the epilogue. I'd really like to know what you guys thought about this chapter and the story as a whole, it'd really help my motivation level in getting this story finished up.

If you'd be so kind as to check on the tumblr blog, there's a few posts relevant to Sunbeams, and I'll be posting an update soon. Thank you!


	21. Results

Whoo, there's a lot in this chapter so strap in!

* * *

There's no moon in the sky, Kei's retired them all for the next few days, unable to focus long enough to put any of them into orbit. He finds himself on the beach, back against the stone wall of the cliff, bare feet half buried in the sand. He'd left his glasses in his room so navigating the path down the cliff was more than a little treacherous.

But he's here now.

Even from so far away, he can hear the Palace singing. It's sings songs of joy, and songs of mourning, songs of comfort, and songs of rage. Even from so far away, Kei can hear the walls whisper, can hear the goings on within.

Bokuto wakes up in fits. Akaashi doesn't sleep. Sugawara has taken to roaming the halls until he collapses in a nook somewhere. Kuroo has been absent from the Palace for a couple of days, Kei can't stretch his sense out enough to look for him, and Kuroo's always been good at hiding. With Asahi still in a coma, the restoration of the forests has gone to Kiyoko and Yachi. They leave in the early morning, directing nymphs and other forest beings in regrowing the trees and restoring the earth. They return before the sun sets, and they stay out in the garden. Tanaka has lost his fight, rarely leaving his room. Moniwa, his team, and the various defense based gods have been working tirelessly to strengthen the Palace's automatic protection.

The Palace sings laments for Sugawara and Daichi and everyone involved with keeping Oikawa's status a secret. Most of the gods understand why the decision was a necessary one, but some of them still hold a grudge, they feel betrayed. Kei can't really blame them, but he also wishes they'd get over it. Now isn't the time to be building tension. The months following a war are always bad for them. They rebuild, calculate their losses, document everything down. They have to travel their realm and make sure the damage hasn't been catastrophic. Those with high magic potential often must be examined and put on watch to see if there'd been any corruption of their cores. The Demons are most definitely put on watch.

The Demons remain together, Kageyama joins them when he can't stand to be in the Forge anymore.

Kageyama.

The Palace sings the most comfort to him. He holes up amongst his fire and his elements, creating and destroying and creating and perfecting and destroying in a vicious cycle. Just as before, the weapons are perfect. Nobody died, but their injuries were numerous. Kei doesn't know what exactly happened when the Demons defeated the monsters, none of them have breathed a word about it.

Kei's fear is that it will become another series of keys.

He's tried to stay out of his workshop. The desire to destroy every single one of his keys has become incredibly insistent. He accepted the responsibility long ago, tricked himself into think he was okay with it. And maybe he was, for a while.

But not anymore, Kei hopes that he won't get anymore visits. He's only been awake for a few days now, and there's been a tension in his body that hasn't left. Every waking moment, he finds himself anticipating a knock on the door. He expects to find one of the gods, looking a wreck, to tell him a secret, just as they had before.

It happened in the dead of the night, when the sky was black. Kei could always be counted on to be awake at such an hour. So they would arrive, and they would tell him what they wanted locked away.

And Kei would do it.

It was fine at first. The first secrets he got were of little consequence where he was concerned. Then the bad ones started appearing. The dark secrets, the ones that made Kei stumble the first time he heard them. The keys that those secrets got locked in are still the heaviest in Kei's collection. There was a lull as they entered into a peacetime. No one came to him, Kei could put the practice to the back of his mind.

Then they were at war.

And after, while Kei was still reeling from the loss of his brother and the loss of his wings, while Kei was still swamped with worry and grief and anger, the gods came to him.

And his collection grew.

Kei eases himself down to sit, his back sliding down the smooth rock. When he woke, the pain in his back was practically non existent, at least by his standards. He draws his knees up and digs his toes deeper into the sand.

There's no use dwelling on the past, he can't do anything to change it. The only one with that potential ability is Akaashi, and there's still some doubt that he even can. He hasn't tried, won't try, Akaashi's too cautious for that.

After a few more hours, Kei stands up, brushing the sand from his clothes. He doesn't want to try climbing back up, not after he'd almost fallen on the way down. Instead, he extends a few strands of chain from each hand and sends them sailing up the cliff face. He doesn't repel so much as he simply makes himself lighter. He recalls his chain in reverse so they carry him up the cliff.

There's only a moment of quiet between Kei standing up and the scream that ripples through the air.

He runs inside, recognizing the scream as Yamaguchi's. For an instant, Kei fears the worse, his mind already procuring worst case scenarios. But he stops short at the front door as a wave of magic rolls through.

It's Yamaguchi's weapon summoning magic, but it's more powerful than Kei has sensed in a long while. He hurries inside and makes his way to Yamaguchi's room, knocking lightly on the door before pushing it open.

Yamaguchi is sitting straight up, a few star beasts surround him, one sits in his lap, looking at him in what is probably concern. About a dozen weapons hover in the air around him, his spear is the closest. He's breathing heavy, chest rising and falling dramatically.

"Tadashi," Kei says from the doorway.

The weapons and star beasts all vanish, and Yamaguchi looks up at him. The stars on his face are shining much too bright.

Kei moves into the room, approaching Yamaguchi's bedside but not sitting down.

"Sorry," Yamaguchi says, voice cracking. "It was just a nightmare."

Daichi and Sugawara had examined him for corruption, and Kei can see that his signature is as clean as ever. Kei knows that this sort of behavior, startling awake in the night, will be happening for some time, just like it did the last time.

He knows that.

There are no words that he can say, so he rests a hand on Yamaguchi's shoulder and squeezes.

"It will pass, just as it did before."

Yamaguchi nods but he doesn't look like he believes what he's hearing.

"I don't think they'll ever stop," he admits, bowing his head to his hands.

Kei sighs quietly and sits down beside him.

Yamaguchi's right. These are memories that won't leave. They may fade with time, but moments will stay, and they will present themselves with clarity.

"What was it?" Kei asks.

"Uh," Yamaguchi takes a moment to rub his eyes before drawing in a shaky breath, "the first time I- when I realized that I could let constellations possess me."

Kei remembers that day, remembers seeing Yamaguchi after he was released from the infirmary. He'd been shaken, and Kei had stayed at his side from the rest of day, and the next. Eventually, Yamaguchi returned to some semblance of normal, but he'd told Kei how frightening it was.

Yamaguchi can't always see what happens while he's possessed, maybe for the first few moments, but then he fades. It's dark, his senses are dulled, he panics.

That first time, Yamaguchi had been in that dark space for longer than he's ever been, then he wakes up in the infirmary. The worst part was that he'd been told how the constellation attempted to corrupt his mind.

Kei reaches for one of his hands.

There really isn't anything he can say that can fix this, so he stays quiet.

* * *

It rings around his head, an incessant buzzing intent on taking up every last bit of his focus.

He puzzles out why he didn't immediately say yes. Taking the time to relearn how to fly is a small price to pay for his wings, and Kei should have been able to nod, to accept, to pay that price, in a heartbeat. He should have agreed on the spot, should have told Daichi to put him to sleep and graft his wings on immediately.

But he hadn't.

Why?

He's narrowed it down to a few emotions, one of which is fear. It's an option that he doesn't really want to entertain, but it keeps whispering, offering up logical reasons that Kei really can't argue with. There is just one question he has yet to answer, and it's a simple question of 'why?'.

Why is he afraid to get his wings back?

He doesn't know, doesn't want to know. He wishes he could pawn the decision off to someone else. Write down a 'yes' and a 'no' then point blindly, or assign a number to each choice and have Yamaguchi pick a value.

However he goes about it, so long as he doesn't have to make the decision.

No one else has brought it up. Daichi hasn't tried to talk to him again, nor has Sugawara. Shouyou hasn't brought it up, and Kageyama and Yamaguchi have kept quiet. None of the others have even uttered a word about his attempted stunt near the end of the war.

It's not like he really wants someone to discuss it with him. But he knows that others are thinking about it. He can practically feel the looks they give him, and those looks are almost always brimming with concern.

No one was in their right mind, they have no right to judge him.

Kei draws in a sharp breath to quell his frustration, but all it does is make Natsu and Shouyou look concerned.

They're with him in his workshop. Shouyou told Natsu about the moons and she'd wanted to see them. Kei made himself go into his workshop and he banished the keys to the artifact room so he wouldn't have to think about them.

Yamaguchi is sitting on one of the work tables, a constellation bouncing from moon to moon, but Kei can't find it within himself to be irritated.

"I'm fine," he says, before either of them can question him. Yamaguchi catches his eye and raises a brow in worry, but he doesn't say anything either.

"If you're sure," Shouyou says. He's developed a tone that Kei would bet he learned from Yamaguchi, the tone that says 'we will talk about this later and I refuse to back down then'. Kei _hates_ that tone, hates it with a passion.

Yamaguchi seems proud of Shouyou for developing it, which only serves to substantiate Kei's theory.

"That one's pretty!" Natsu points to one of the brightest moons in the workshop.

It's the one Kei made for the former Sun God, and he tells her as such.

Once the words leave his mouth, all he can see is that pair of massive wings drooping over the side of a platform, body already beginning to glow with red magic. He sees the emblem on the cloak and finds himself standing on a raised dais, gods all around him. He's taller than the Sun God, but he holds less presence. The room grows bright and a soft melody calms whatever nerves had lingered. He locks eyes with his brother, standing to his left. Akiteru looks up and opens an eye, locking onto Kei's gaze. He smiles warmly and nods before closing his eye and bowing his head once more.

The force of the magic that hits him makes him drop to his knees. It courses through him, teetering between too much and nothingness. Everything zooms in and out far too fast for him to follow. The world around him is amplified, he can feel each thread in his tunic and he can feel the individual feathers in his wings-

Kei blinks hard and he's back in his workshop. Shouyou's babbling to Natsu, and Yamaguchi is tugging his constellation out of one of Kei's tool boxes.

He shakes his head to clear it and sits down on a bench. Not a moment later, Natsu is clambering up to sit beside him.

"Will you make a moon for Shouyou?" she asks.

"Oh! Would you?"

Shouyou's wings flap, blowing a short gust of hot air through the room. He doesn't pout, he puts on a brilliant smile. His eyes shine and he glows brighter. There's nothing but hope and glee in his expression.

Can Kei really say no to such a face?

No, the answer is no.

He nods, and Shouyou manages to flip himself in a circle without disturbing any of the moons.

"I can give it to you after your officiation."

It'll take that long just for Kei to come up with something he deems passable and acceptable for Shouyou. A number of their gods are still in healing comas, but with Oikawa's magic, the process is moving a lot faster than it did when he was asleep. Those not on the brink of death when they were put under had all woken already while Asahi and Terushima would still be out of commission for a short while. They can't have an officiation unless all the gods are present, and Asahi is one of their major ones.

In addition, Kiyoko, Yachi, and various nymphs have been busy regrowing all of the forest that was damaged during the war. Kenma and his beasts have been busy cleaning the waters of the monster blood while his nymphs perform checks in the deep sea. A number of older gods make back and forth trips between the Palace and monsters' home base, investigating the latter.

Kei has yet to mention the cave he left his monster in, and he hopes that none of the nymphs bring it up. He doesn't think he'll be so lucky though, all his luck was used up in the fact that nobody died.

That's how he thinks anyway, nevermind that it likely won't make sense to anyone else.

Shouyou starts rambling about how he wants his moon to look but Kei only holds up a hand to stop him.

"It's a surprise, you don't get to decide what it looks like."

Shouyou does pout this time but Kei steels his resolve and shakes his head. Eventually, the Sun God gives up, darting forward to give Kei a kiss.

"I'm sure I'll love it."

As the night winds down, Shouyou and Natsu have to go back to the Palace. Natsu is falling asleep, the flames she calls hair have turned from a crimson red to a soft orange instead.

Yamaguchi waves, and Tsukishima tries not to blush when Shouyou flies up just enough to give him another kiss.

* * *

Shouyou arrives early in the morning, Kageyama only a few paces behind him. He flies at Kei, keeping himself up with only his legs, so he can gesture with his hands while he talks.

"Asahi and Terushima are waking up today!" he says. Kei looks past him to Kageyama for confirmation

"Daichi's intentionally ending their comas because he wants to check in," Kageyama says. "But he said they're both fully healed."

"You and Tadashi are coming too," Shouyou decides. He jumps off Kei to move toward Yamaguchi, taking his hand and tugging lightly. "Let's go!"

Kageyama gestures for Shouyou to go a little ways ahead with Yamaguchi. He stays close enough that he's within their line of sight at all times, and Kei is grateful for the fact.

"What is it?" he asks, knowing that Kageyama wouldn't have told Shouyou to go ahead if he didn't want to talk.

"I told Daichi about your wings," he says.

"I know."

"What did he tell you?"

"That he could graft them back on. It would just take a healing coma."

"And what did you say?"

"That I needed time to think about it."

His conversations with Kageyama have always been a source of intrigue for him. Kageyama is blunt in his questioning, he doesn't try to soften blows or skirt around discussion. He also doesn't push if he can't find fault with the answer he gets. He'll take them at face value and figure the deeper meanings on his own at a later time.

Almost always, he's correct.

Kei likes that, he appreciates directness.

There's more to it than that, he knows. There's something about talking to Kageyama, Kei doesn't think that he judges people when they talk to him. If he does, then he's very good at hiding it. He's earnest, in a nearly annoying way, but Kei's grown used to it over the lifetimes.

"Okay," Kageyama says easily enough.

That's the extent of their conversation. They catch up with Shouyou and Yamaguchi and they arrange themselves one the path to the Palace. Kei ends up walking in the middle, Shouyou perched on his shoulder. Kei wonders if he got the idea from Nishinoya. Their little guardian can often be found sitting on one of Asahi's shoulders, and it's become such a normal occurrence that nobody bats an eye anymore.

They arrive soon enough and Kei keeps quiet as they pass through the gates. He hears the Palace's song even louder as they pass through the front entry, it echoes off the walls and waits in the rafters before swooping down in arcs.

Kei hasn't been back since he woke up. The Palace knows this.

Kei can tell that Kageyama can hear the song too, some of them are more inclined to it than others.

Upon entering the infirmary, Kei finds that they aren't alone.

Terushima's pack is waiting eagerly, a few of them nearly vibrating in their efforts to keep still. Nishinoya, Yachi, Kiyoko, and a few other forest based nymphs are waiting for Asahi, all crowded around his bed. They're the only two left as the others had already been woken up a short time previous.

The four of them take up a spot against the wall, Kei leans back and Shouyou jumps down from his shoulders to stand beside him.

Oikawa is emitting his magic, Sugawara acting as a conduit for it so it's more compatible with Daichi's own brand of magic.

The shrouds holding Asahi and Terushima in their healing comas fall away. Everyone waits with baited breath for them to wake.

After a few incredibly tense moments, Terushima opens his eyes, blinking slowly and utterly confused. Asahi follows moments later, looking panicked until Nishinoya all but collapses over him, hugging him tightly.

The infirmary erupts into a cacophony of chatter and crying.

Kei leans against the wall, nudging Shouyou forward to go greet Asahi.

"Did we win?"

Terushima's voice is barely audible over all the noise.

Kei finds himself smiling for a moment.

Daichi completes some diagnostics on the two of them before giving them the go ahead to leave whenever they get their feet under them. Kei slips from the infirmary the second he accidentally meets Daichi's gaze. He mutters a quick excuse to Yamaguchi before going.

He wanders until he ends up in the garden and he settles himself behind a tall hedge riddled with bright red and orange flowers.

It's not until he's comfortable and his breathing has returned to normal that he realized what he'd done.

He'd run away.

* * *

Yamaguchi's magic rolls through the air again, this time it shakes the very foundation of their home. Kei picks himself up and goes to Yamaguchi's room.

Already, all but one of the weapons have been banished and the star beasts are nowhere to be found. Yamaguchi is sitting up, having turned so his legs are over the side of his bed and his feet are on the floor.

"They're getting worse," Kei says plainly, sitting beside Yamaguchi. In what feels like a defeated manner, Yamaguchi drops his head to Kei's shoulder.

"I know. I think I should stop sleeping."

Yamaguchi's spear lies at the foot of his bed, easily within physical reaching distance.

"I don't think that's wise either."

"If it means I don't have to see all of this every night, I don't care."

They end up staying awake for the rest of that night. The following morning, Yamaguchi locks himself in his workshop.

Kei sits out on the cliff to bounce ideas off himself.

He stands by his earlier thoughts, moving back to the Palace could help both of them. Now that Yamaguchi's nightmares are becoming so frequent and so severe, it's the only thing Kei wholeheartedly believes will help.

The Palace will help keep him calm, will do its best to rid him of nightmares before they occur. Kei knows it's been doing so for Tanaka, and for countless others. It will have missed Yamaguchi.

But Kei holds back for a little while. He would like it if Yamaguchi would talk to him, maybe they could make this situation better on their own. Yamaguchi probably won't talk to him though, not past what Kei already knows anyhow. He's very good at keeping the worst parts to himself, to minimize worrying others, despite the fact that it just makes Kei worry more.

Kei's struck by the sudden realization that this is how Yamaguchi must feel about him most of the time.

It's not until Yamaguchi sends a spear through a wall that Kei realizes it's a 'now or never' scenario.

Yamaguchi's already sobbing when Kei enters his room.

"I can't-" he starts, "I can't, not anymore, it just keeps getting worse."

Kei sits down beside him and moves to pull him into a side hug.

"I've been thinking," Kei says, "it might get better if we move back to the Palace."

Yamaguchi doesn't say anything for the longest while and Kei's afraid that he's completely misread the situation.

"The Palace?"

"Yes."

" _We_? But you said you can't stand the Palace."

"That's not entirely true."

"I'm not going to leave you out here alone just so I can get some sleep."

"I know, so I'll go with you."

Yamaguchi is silent for a long while before he moves back a little bit. When Kei looks at him, their gazes lock.

"You're serious about this?" Yamaguchi asks.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now."

Yamaguchi lights up, jumping from the bed. He somehow manages to pick Kei up and spin him around. The stars on his face are shining and the star beasts all begin to appear one by one. Soon enough, Yamaguchi's room is nothing but a mess of glowing light.

"Thank you," he says, setting Kei back on the ground and pulling him into a hug.

Kei doesn't say anything, he just nods and tightens his arms around Yamaguchi

* * *

"Kei!"

He braces for impact as the little sprite comes running. Natsu jumps into his arms, her fiery hair already spelled to keep from burning him. She's wearing a dress made of airy pink and orange fabric, hemmed in white and shimmering. Kyoutani must have made it recently because his magic is still strong.

Natsu's all smiles as she holds out a lopsided crown of flowers. The petals are a deep blue, tipped in white, with silver veins that are just barely visible. Kei notices that they almost glow, though it's a little hard to tell in the bright light of the Hall. They glow in time with Natsu's breathing, pulsing just the slightest bit lighter with every inhale.

"I made it with Shimizu's new flowers," she says. She looks incredibly proud of this creation.

"Thank you, it looks very nice." He bows his head so she can put it on him, then adjusts her in his arms.

"The Hall looks really pretty."

They'd re-prepared the Hall for Shouyou's officiation, and it looks even better than before.

The pillars are bigger, bolder, and brighter, and Kiyoko's floating flowers fill the air. The wall murals are moving, colors swirling around and glowing. Sugawara's raised a circular dais in the center of the room, engraved with small suns and ornately woven designs of gold. The border is detailed with the events of the war, mainly their victory. Each god is represented with a symbol, some are rather obvious. Kei is a moon, Shouyou is a sun, Kageyama is a sword, Yamaguchi is a simple constellation. Iwaizumi is more abstract, most of the demons are, but after a few moments of puzzling, Kei can divine who is what.

The Palace itself is ready for Shouyou's officiation. Kei can feel its refrain in his heart with every passing second. The walls seem to hum as well, a palpable energy thrumming through the very infrastructure. It just feels _lighter_.

A handful of gods are milling about, making sure everything looks perfect. They're all dressed up in formal garb, and they look stunning. It's Kyoutani's work, all airy fabric and intricate designs, magic embedded in the threads.

Yachi is practically swimming in a sea of green, blue, and pink, the hems of her dress are embroidered with moving flowers, each petal an individual. Kiyoko is dressed in green and white, a shimmery tunic and flowing robe, the latter of which appears to be made entirely of petals. Tanaka is dressed in a deep red tunic, a shifting black sash tied around his middle. His cloak is hanging over one arm, it's a seething mass of flames. Nishinoya's garb is a mix of light yellows and white, more form fitted than the others but his sash crackles with electricity which occasionally travels along his body. Akaashi looks the most stunning, dressed completely in glowing white save for a light purple robe that nearly hurts to look at for longer than a few seconds. In each thread, the events of their history plays out, but it's just the good moments, only the best ones.

They still carry their weapons though.

Yachi's rapier is hidden by the swirling fabric around her, while Kiyoko doesn't bother trying to hide her bow. Tanaka wears his sister's bangles and his studded knuckles are a sure weight in his pocket , Nishinoya's sabers hang at his side, even Akaashi has his blades with him. This go around, there's no doubt that their enemy is gone, that there are no blatant opposing forces out there.

Kei can't blame them.

"Tsuki!"

Yamaguchi is dressed in midnight blue, hemmed in gold, and absolutely glowing with the constellations on the back of his robe. The stars speckling his skin glow even brighter, and he looks more well rested than Kei has seen him in a long while.

Each of Yamaguchi's fingers bares a ring, some even have two.

"Hi Tadashi!"

"Hello, Natsu. Are you ready?" he asks Kei.

"I believe so."

Truth be told, Kei would rather anyone else conduct Shouyou's officiation. The formula is simple enough, all he's to do is channel the blessing enriched power from the gods through him and then into Shouyou. It's the detail work that has Kei concerned.

It's a tremendous amount of power, and Kei has to send it into Shouyou without letting it kill him.

Kei hasn't slept at all in the week preceding this officiation day.

More gods begin to pour into the Hall. In the mix, the demons arrive, followed by nymphs and shifters, who amass themselves just outside the area surrounding the dais.

"Oh, I'm supposed to go sit with Kenma," Natsu says, pointing into the crows when she spots the nymph. He's dressed similarly to how he was during their last meeting, but there are more patches of luminescence shining across his skin.

Kei catches a glimpse of his butterfly sword, barely hidden at his side.

"Kei, can I say something?" her voice is quiet as she leans close to his ear, as if she's going to tell him a secret.

"I suppose."

"Everything's going to be okay," she whispers, "I saw it."

Before Kei can react, Natsu jumps from his arms and runs across the floor to Kenma. She stops herself before she runs into him. He looks nervous, as if he'll somehow put out her fire.

"I guess it's almost time to start," Yamaguchi says, putting a hand on Kei's shoulder and squeezing lightly.

"I guess so."

Yamaguchi joins the other gods as they begin to gather around the dais. They file in order, the oldest will be behind Kei, the youngest behind Shouyou. As they get into place, Kei moves to stand on his side of the dais. He takes a breath to calm himself and opens a pathway to his blessing for ease of access.

After a few moments, a hush falls over the Hall.

Shouyou arrives with Sugawara. He's dressed in a simple red tunic, a white sash sits around his waist, his short staffs tucked against his left side. Out of ceremony, he's wearing the flower crown that Natsu made him before the war. Sugawara is much more refined. Kei can't put any one color to Sugawara's garments, they seem to be evershifting, slowly yet all at once, with each movement he makes. He's shining too, amidst his fluttering fabric there is a light emanating from Sugawara.

Kei refocuses.

Sugawara walks Shouyou onto the dais, directly across from Kei. Shouyou smiles, soft and small.

"I won't speak for long," Sugawara says, voice echoing around the room, "a majority of us have seen this ceremony before, but that doesn't make it any less special. Today, after a dark period in our record, we are ready to officiate our new Sun God."

There's a loud cheering cry from the assembly, the Hall grows just a bit warmer.

With that, Sugawara moves to stand behind Kei, squeezing his arm in passing.

The assembled gods take each other's hands as they bow their heads and close their eyes. Kei forces himself not to panic. He knows that the surge of magic and power will come from behind him, it will hit him like an attack.

He locks his eyes with Shouyou. The Sun God doesn't look the slightest bit intimidated or worried, he meets Kei's gaze and his wings flutter before stretching out behind him.

Kei can feel the magic building in the room. Each god begins to glow, growing brighter and brighter. The magic follows their joined hands, building as it passes between them until it's culminated into raw magical power. Kei can't see him, but he knows that Sugawara's glow is too bright to look at. Kei calls up his own magic in preparation, pulling all that he can from his blessing.

It happens all at once.

The magic hits square between his shoulder blades, coursing through his body in the space between heartbeats. His first instinct is to try and dispel it, but he pushes that aside and focuses on allowing it to collect and culminate before passing through.

His right hand comes up, fingers up and palm facing Shouyou. He can feel his magic shaping itself, and he feels the familiar sensation of his magic extending from his back, extending in the form of wings.

Kei knows his eyes are blazing, and it's a bit of start when he sees that his magic is not blue, but red. It bleeds light blue from his shoulder, darkening and gathering down his arm and into his hand.

Shouyou nods, but Kei hesitates.

His body is shaking with the effort it's taking to contain all of the magic flowing through him. There's so many different kinds. Some of the magic is raging, it's scorching and not content to be held by Kei. Other parts feel much more alive than they should be, while others are foreign in that Kei has never handled them before. Some of the magic is heavy, other parts are light as a feather, and Kei has to fight for it to stay connected, for it to remain intertwined as one mass.

What if he hurts Shouyou?

Shouyou takes a step forward.

Kei can't move, he doesn't feel stable enough.

Shouyou takes another step.

The magic leaps on its own and then all of Kei's focus is geared only towards controlling the flow of it. It fights against him, eager to rush its new host all at once. Kei won't let that happen.

All the same, Shouyou drops to his knees.

Kei sees his wings flap once, twice, then strain outwards. They ignite in a moment, flames spark from Shouyou's shoulders and race along until his wings are engulfed in fire. Shouyou's eyes shine white hot.

As quick as it had started, the ceremony ends. The flow of magic stops, and the flames along Shouyou's wings go out

Kei's first response is to check on Shouyou, but before he can take a single step, Shouyou erupts into a burst of flames.

His laughter fills the room as he shoots up into the air.

If possible, his wings have grown even larger, and he holds a constant glow. When he touches back on the ground, free of flames, Kei can see the more prominent physical changes. Much like how Yamaguchi's face is smattered with stars, Shouyou's face is covered in what look like burning embers that spread across his cheeks and nose. His eyes are now a deep crimson, and they show no sign of changing.

He's still laughing.

Then Natsu's on the dais with him, jumping into his arms, she's laughing too.

The Hall grows brighter and Kei can feel the pulse of signatures lighten as everyone breaks into a jovial mood. Suga's leaning on Daichi's shoulder, Nishinoya's taken up his spot on Asahi's shoulder as he cheers. Yachi's clapping and smiling as Kiyoko sends a green flare of magic into the air, making all the flowers hovering glow brighter and more brilliant. Bokuto's already started singing, adding trails of pink to the collection of lights in the air. The mural changes scenes, displaying past officiations, and the Palace sings louder and lighter than Kei's ever heard it.

A hand falls lightly on his shoulder and Kei barely keeps himself from jumping. Akaashi stands at his side, watching as Shouyou is quickly surrounded by various beings, all congratulating him.

"I'd look down at your hand," Akaashi says. Kei quirks a brow but does as he says.

There, in his right hand, is a blessing. It's heavy, warm, and unblemished save for a single line from the top to the bottom.

It's Shouyou's blessing, only slightly different from the former Sun God's.

"Everyone!" Sugawara's voice rings out. "There's one more thing to be done, then we can commence with the celebration!"

He turns to Kei and clasps his hands.

"Tsukishima?"

The crowd around Shouyou disperses enough for Kei to move closer.

"Your blessing," Kei says. He takes one of Shouyou's hands and places the blessing in the center of his palm.

Shouyou glows white and his wings take on a black shimmer for a few minutes before it all fades. The blessing is gone, and Shouyou is grinning wider. He jumps, locking his arms around Kei's neck and squeezing him tight.

The celebration that follows is more of an excuse for the lot of them to dance and drink and enjoy themselves as they rarely do. Bokuto and a number of nymphs provide the music and once the drink starts flowing, tensions simply bleed from the room.

A makeshift dancefloor begins in the center of the room.

Yachi dance with Natsu, the little sprite giggling as she spins. Terushima's team has taken to a jumble of limbs moving just barely in rhythm. Asahi dances with Kiyoko while Tanaka and Nishinoya have started some kind of competition with Kyoutani and Yamamoto. Even Yamaguchi's dancing.

Various other gods are among them, but a good portion of them sit along the walls, talking freely and casually.

Kei doesn't see Shouyou all that much, flickers of orange and red here and there, but he's kept busy by others.

Surprisingly enough, Natsu approaches Kei before anybody else does. She's breathing fast, her hair growing and shrinking with each breath. But she's still laughing as she clambers into Kei's lap.

"See?" she says, "I told you it would be okay."

She reaches up to adjust the flower crown on his head. Kei's surprised it survived the ceremony.

"Yes you did," he replies after a moment. He wants to clarify, to confirm his theory, but Natsu is young.

"So, Shouyou's official, now?" she asks. Kei finds him across the floor laughing at something Kunimi's said, while Kageyama blushes furiously.

"He is."

"Can he do anything cool?"

"I guess we'll find out."

Natsu pouts.

"Do you think he'll be able to spit fire? I can do that," she says proudly, sitting up straight.

"Really?"

She nods before turning her face to the ceiling. She purses her lips a slender plume of fire erupts from her mouth, dissipating in the air after a few seconds.

"Impressive," Kei says.

Natsu runs off again and Kei remains unbothered for the rest of the evening. Once everyone begins to disperse, he waits at the entryway.

"Kei!" Shouyou spots him easily enough, making his way over rather quickly.

"Shall we take a walk?" Kei asks.

Shouyou nods and waves to Kageyama as Kei searches to meet Yamaguchi's gaze. Then they're on their way. Shouyou stays on the ground as opposed to Kei's shoulder.

Kei walks him past the Palace boundaries and towards the Spire he once called home. Through magical purposes only has it not fallen into disrepair. They climb the stairs and once they're almost at the top, Kei tells Shouyou to close his eyes. Slowly, Kei guides him to the balcony.

When Shouyou grabs hold of the railing, Kei raises a hand into the sky. His fingers glow dark blue and the mirage he's held for the majority of the night falls away.

"Okay, you can open them now."

In the night sky, backlit by stars, is Shouyou's moon. It's not the largest moon Kei's ever made, nor is it the smallest, but it is the brightest. Intermixed with hues of red, it still shines a pure white. Each crack and crater carefully placed, Kei finds it to be his best one yet.

He looks down to gauge Shouyou's reaction and it's nothing less than he'd hoped for.

The little Sun God is slack jawed and wide eyed, hands gripping the railing of the balcony. Almost perfectly, the moon reflects in Shouyou's eyes.

"You made that...for me?" he asks softly, still staring.

"You asked for one."

"I never expected-"

Shouyou wraps his arms around Kei's waist. Kei's hands come up automatically, one hand twining into Shouyou's hair, while his other rests on Shouyou's back.

"Thank you."

* * *

Shouyou's moon hangs in the night sky once again, Kei will admit to putting it in more rotations than his others, in addition to the one Shouyou was initially taken with.

It's been a peaceful night, with the slightest chill in the air.

"Hey, stargazer, you're all blank."

"Yeah, what's swirling around in that big head of yours?"

Bokuto sits himself down to Kei's left, and Kuroo takes his right.

He'd been trying to work his thoughts out _alone_. Why these two appear to have gone out of their way to visit is beyond him. Not many beings will make the trip to Kei's workshop, not that it's far, but the likelihood of being ignored and turned away is high.

Not that that seems to dissuade the two gods before him. Maybe Shouyou's easy acceptance into Kei's home has disillusioned the other gods.

"Personal matters," Kei answers.

He has nothing against them, despite Kuroo thinking otherwise. He's just not one for company, at least not tonight.

"Personal matters, huh? Anything we could help with?" Bokuto asks, his mechanical eye glowing bright and whirring along.

Kyoutani had gone maybe a little overboard with Bokuto's eye, Kei supposes he does that with most of his projects though. The eye allows for Bokuto to see signatures clear as day, gauge magical ability, and they even present him with a diagnostic like scan of his enemies when he fights.

It's an amazing feat of skill, one that Kei can respect, but it's unnerving when that eye is trained on him. All he can think of is Bokuto receiving information about Kei's faltering signature as of late, or the way his magic has been fluctuating with his whacked out emotions.

Bokuto doesn't need to see that.

"No, but thank you for offering."

Kuroo lays back, folding his hands atop his stomach and letting out a little sigh.

"Tsukishima?"

"Hm?"

"The war is over, you're not alone anymore. I know everyone more or less drifted apart after last time, and I really hope that doesn't happen again. I'm- _We_ are extending an olive branch. I know you still haven't really sorted yourself out after Akiteru-"

"Your concern for my well-being means a lot," Kei says, he means it but his voice falls flat. "Your worry is misplaced, I'm fine."

Kei stands up as quick as he can and moves toward the door to his home, hoping that Kuroo and Bokuto will have the sense to leave him be.

They don't, of course they don't. He didn't really expect them to anyway.

"Kei, you can't bottle everything up, you know? That's what got us into this mess in the first place."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oikawa's predecessor, he waited until the last moment to tell us all about the magic that the monsters possessed. We were unprepared, despite the fact that we won."

"These feelings won't spark a war," Kei says, turning around to face them.

"Maybe not, but it will keep you from being happy. I carried around my secrets for lifetimes, and you did too. You carried everybody's-"

"This isn't about the secrets, Kuroo. I've made my peace with my aspect, I accept it. I said this is a personal matter."

"Is it about your wings then?" Bokuto asks, voice gentle as he stands. "That time in the field, the magic you were drawing, you got them back. Can Sawamura reattach them?"

Kei squares his shoulders and tries his best not to curl his hands into fists.

"He mentioned it."

"Then? What's the hold up?" Bokuto asks.

The two of them stand up but they don't crowd him, perhaps knowing the possible reaction they'll receive.

Kei's thankful for that much. Bokuto and Kuroo aren't quite Old Gods, but they've been around longer than Kei. They may appear brash but Kei knows them, knows that their strategic capability, at least in the field of reading other beings is concerned, is very nearly unparalleled. In interactions like this one, they know what they're doing.

"If you're not gonna tell us then talk to somebody else," Kuroo says, "you do have friends, you know?"

"I can handle this," Kei says, "I'm capable of making my own decisions."

With that, he turns around and hurries through the door, leaving Kuroo and Bokuto outside. They don't try to get in, and he keys into their signatures, staying put until they give in and leave.

"What was all that about?"

Yamaguchi stands in the hall, a crate full of star scrolls in his arms. They've both been working on clearing up their workshops in preparation for the move.

"Just Kuroo and Bokuto," Kei says, knowing that Yamaguchi won't let him pass by if he feels something's wrong.

"All the way out here? Did something happen? Urgent message?"

"No."

"Then?"

"They wanted to express their concern," Kei says slowly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"For?"

"Despite common belief, Bokuto is quite observant."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Talk to somebody, huh?

"My wings," Kei says, "I don't know if I want them back and I don't know why."

Silence reigns for far longer than Kei is comfortable.

"My workshop?" Yamaguchi asks at last. He sets down his crate and doesn't bother waiting for Kei's reply.

Kei finds himself being dragged down the hall.

Yamaguchi's workshop is mostly empty, a few crates of star maps sit in a corner and a number of worktables are still covered in tools and materials. A few star beasts hover around as well

"Daichi said he could reattach them?" Yamaguchi asks, clearing a spot at one of the benches for the both of them to sit down.

"He did."

"Then?"

"I don't know."

"You know nothing bad will happen when you get them back, right?"

"I know that."

"Then do you think you don't deserve to have them back?"

Hmm, there's a thought.

Kei closes his eyes, removing his glasses so he can rub the bridge of his nose. Is that what it is? Does he think he doesn't deserve them? There are things he feels he needs to atone for, but he knows that they don't make any sense. The outcome of the war was more than he could have hoped for, and that's his hang up.

He shouldn't need anything else. They _won._ Nobody _died._ The chances of that happening are miniscule, but they'd done it. What reason does he have to _want_ when things turned out so well? A part of him hisses and whispers at him, telling him that wanting his wings is selfish. What right does he have to gain something when others have lost?

Yamaguchi's hand closes around his wrist.

"It's not selfish," he says, "they were yours to begin with, and they were taken from you. All you'd be doing is reclaiming what's yours."

The stubborn part of Kei refuses to listen, so he folds his arms across the table and drops his head.

"Frankly," Yamaguchi starts, "this is stupid."

Kei bolts back up, incredulousness splayed openly in his expression.

"You heard me. Out of all of us here, if there's anyone who deserves to get something back, it's you. I mean, this should be an easy decision but you're so intent on punishing yourself for something that isn't even your fault! I doubt you'll listen to anyone else, so I'll say it again. You deserve your wings, they're yours to take, so, sort yourself out, go find Daichi, and get them back."

Kei blinks slowly, processing the fact that Yamaguchi has just _yelled_ at him.

"I figured soft talking wasn't going to work," he says, shrugging. "This seems to have done the job though, right?"

Then Kei's laughing, removing his glasses as tears begin to well up.

* * *

I do believe this was the longest chapter to date, so that's cool. Natsu was only supposed to be in the officiation part but she just ended up everywhere, I don't know, she's pretty great.

Well, we just have the epilogue left, then Sunbeams is done! However, there are still a number of parts of this story that remain open ended, as this is Tsukishima centric. So if you're curious about any of the other characters, feel free to ask. I was thinking of doing like a Q&A type of thing, maybe, over on tumblr, just to answer questions about the other characters, questions about the world building, and stuff like that. Or if you just want to clarify something, that's cool too. Just hop on over to the wire-pudding tumblr and I'll answer whatever you need.

In any case, thank you all for sticking with this story for so long, it means a lot! As always, let me know what you think of this chapter!


	22. Epilogue

His legs dangle over the balcony, a light breeze drifting along, rustling his feathers. It's been a few hours since he settled down, the moons high in the sky and the stars twinkling intermittently. One of the moons is Shouyou's, the other is Shouyou's favorite. There are a few smaller ones as well, one of which is poised almost directly overhead the Spire.

The nightlife of their realm has always been peculiar, and it's been lifetimes since he's watched it from this high up.

The shimmery barriers of the Palace are dull, faintly reflecting the night sky as it shimmers. Sugawara's crow flies overhead as it always does, but it's eyes glow a dangerous shade of orange, glinting with something unidentifiable. Certain parts of the forest give off occasional soft bursts of light as nymphs and other creatures settle down or come alive. Every so often, a few strains of music will drift through the air, its source is everywhere and nowhere. The Forge has died down some, now emitting a faint orange glow, not a wisp of smoke in sight. Past the Palace, something in the ocean glows with multicolored light. The beast breaches, creating a multistory splash as it crashes back into the water without a sound. The atmosphere has gone quiet and pensive, the heavy weight of magic has dissipated some and everything seems lighter and softer than it does during the day.

Kei's always loved this time of night.

His wings twitch as he hears a noise behind him. Without looking, he knows that it's Yamaguchi, his signature is its own calling card.

"Missed the view?" Yamaguchi asks quietly. He stands beside Kei, folding his arms atop the balcony railing.

"It's a wonder it hasn't changed."

Kei's been forcing himself to stay in the Spire whenever possible. He set up his workshop in this room so he wouldn't have a choice. There are memories of Akiteru everywhere in the structure, residual bits of his magic still clinging stubbornly to the walls. He's trying to be okay with it. He works, creating and creating until his hands are shaking from exhaustion, anything to keep his mind busy. He hasn't drawn up the courage to go anywhere near the portrait room, and he confines his stay in the Palace to his bedroom and a choice number of places.

"Couldn't sleep?" Kei asks, tearing his gaze from the sky to settle on Yamaguchi.

He looks more relaxed than Kei has seen him in a while, he's finally sleeping again. Ennoshita has started a new system and he's kept Yamaguchi fairly busy designing a new night sky, the project has kept his mind occupied and focused. All in all, he's doing much better. There's a star beast on his shoulder, a small dragon of some kind that's partially wrapped around his arm.

Yamaguchi freezes a moment.

"Shit, no, I was actually supposed to come get you," he says with a laugh. "A bunch of us were going to stay up in the garden. Bokuto and Akaashi are going to be telling stories. Suga wanted you to come."

"'A bunch of us'?"

"Most of the Palace, I think Hinata dragged Kenma along too."

"Okay."

"Really? I don't have to fight you for this?"

"Let's just go," Kei says, rolling his eyes.

Yamaguchi smiles as he vaults over the rail, legs glowing as he stays hovering in the open air.

Kei shifts, stretching his wings out. He's been practicing, but he can't quite fly like he used to yet. Gliding isn't an issue, but his sustained flight needs more work, and he can't maneuver very well. It's as much a mental matter as it is a physical one. When he'd woken up, the weight at his back was familiar but uncomfortable as well. He'd lived lifetimes without them, gotten used to not carrying their weight. They weren't heavy per say, the problem came when Kei attempted to lift his body off the ground.

The first time he practiced, he did so by himself, and he didn't get more than two seconds of airtime before he dropped. Memories flashed in his mind and suddenly he was locked in combat once again, he was falling again. He didn't try for a while after that.

But he's getting better.

Shouyou volunteered to help and Kei almost refused immediately. The only person who'd ever taught him how to fly was Akiteru. They'd be starting from square one, Shouyou hovering a short distance off the ground, holding Kei's hands. He'd nodded anyways, and spent the night making himself okay with accepting Shouyou's help.

His wings are almost entirely the same. They're just as big as they used to be, but his first set seems a bit more grey than it used to be, and the blue tips have spread inward a short ways. His second set is unchanged, save for a single black feather nestled amongst the blue on either side. Both sets of wings are softer though. Daichi had pulled Kei aside after he woke up to let him know that because he'd drawn so much magic from his wings during the war, they'd lost their defensive property. But he still had them, they're still his wings.

There is one major difference, however.

The brace that Yachi had made him near the end of the war had melded to his skin, merged with his magic just the slightest bit. Due to the exacerbation of his injury, the brace had grown to span the entirety of his back. It was a living brace, imbued with Yachi's magic.

Scattered intermittently amongst Kei's feathers are pale pink blossoms, tethered by roots made entirely of magic. He can feel each one just as he does his feathers, and he has sensation in them. Pulling them hurts, and they don't impede his flight, so he lets them alone.

According to Daichi, the flowers only grew a week or two before he woke up. His wings had reverted to little more than light and magic at the start, slowly solidifying as they bonded to his body. Daichi said that dots of pink light had appeared at that stage but they'd vanished once his wings became tangible.

Yachi had erupted into an unintelligible mess of apologies the moment Kei woke up. Yamaguchi had burst into giggles while Sugawara and Daichi hid their smiles behind their hands. Shouyou had been entirely enamored with the new additions, the first thing he did was try to touch one of the blossoms. Kei's smaller set of wings had reacted, sort of smacking Shouyou's hand away.

Kei lets himself fall over the railing, gliding down until he touches the ground. It's different. Akiteru's winds were specifically attuned to his and Kei's presence, giving them drafts when needed. It's strange not to have them anymore.

They walk the rest of the way, Kei tucks his wings against his back but keeps them out. He can sense the old magic by the time they reach the gate, and it only grows stronger the closer they get to the garden. The only source of light comes from the glowing flowers around them, casting the area in a hash of pinks, purples, and reds.

The whole group has settled near a fountain, likely for Kozume's benefit as the nymph is resting in said fountain. In front of him is Lev, the two of them quietly conversing. Kei almost has to double take. Running right through Lev's nightmare eye is a scar, stretching from his hairline to the middle of his cheek.

Tanaka sits beside Kuroo, fidgeting with his hands as he talks. Initially, Tanaka had completely avoided Kuroo, whenever and however possible. His fury at what the key revealed had burned out during the war, but he was still raw about it. It's only in the past week or so that Tanaka has finally begun speaking to Kuroo.

Just next to them, Oikawa and Iwaizumi sit with their team. Watari and Yahaba are lying down, Kunimi slumped asleep over the latter. Kyoutani sits beside Iwaizumi, pointing out something in a bound journal. Kindaichi is with Matsukawa while Hanamaki and Oikawa talk in hushed tones.

Nishinoya, Yachi, Asahi, and Kiyoko are clustered together, none of them speaking as Yachi focuses on changing the types of flowers that decorate her skin. Kiyoko is braiding Asahi's hair, twining in a few slim, blossoming vines.

Sugawara sits between Daichi and Akaashi, conversing with both of them. He's without his gloves, baring the red stains on his skin. A paper bird rests on his shoulder, Kei can't tell exactly what type it is, only that its colors are constantly changing. Akaashi has Bokuto's head in his lap, absently stroking through his hair. Bokuto's eye is glowing, little blips of light slipping past his lips as he talks.

Then there's Daichi. Daichi, who looks more well rested than Kei has ever seen him, is holding Natsu in his lap. He's smiling as she talks to him, laughing for the first time in what feels like lifetimes. He doesn't look so aged, so exhausted.

When Kei had gone under, Daichi still looked somewhat haggard, not yet recovered. He'd looked only marginally better when Kei woke up. But now? Daichi looks like a _God_ again.

Yamaguchi nudges him over to where Shouyou and Kageyama are sitting. Shouyou's sprawled on the ground, trying to stack a number of oddly shaped rocks atop one another. When he looks away to find another, Kageyama knocks the tower down.

Kageyama sees them first, tapping Shouyou's shoulder to get his attention.

"You came!"

Surprisingly, Shouyou doesn't come running, doesn't jump up and lock his legs around Kei's waist. Instead, he just takes Kei's hands and smiles brightly before tugging Kei to sit down. Yamaguchi strikes up conversation with Kageyama while Shouyou lays down once again, this time with half of his body on Kageyama and the other half on Kei.

"We're still waiting for everybody else," he says.

They make quiet chatter for a while. Kageyama shares some weapon designs he's been working on, Shouyou talks about how Natsu's been trying to teach him how to spit fire. Yamaguchi talks about the project Ennoshita's given him, and Kei is just content to be in the moment.

There's conversation all around as everyone arrives and once Akaashi deems it right to begin, he starts to glow. Bokuto follows suit, and Sugawara does as well.

Without a word, everybody falls into silence.

Akaashi stretches out his arms, pink light swirling down his left, green light down his right. The light pools into the center of their makeshift circle, fusing and pulsing. Bokuto opens his mouth but no words come out, a simple melody spills past his lips, haunting and calm. His entire body glows a light blue as the music swells. Then Sugawara extends his left hand, iridescent light spills past his fingers to join the mass of magic light in the center.

Images begin to take shape, some humanoid, others not so much. The colors change, a dark shape emerges from the haze of magic and from it four beings form.

Kei's heard the stories, they all have. But their memories go only as far back as their beings. Attributes may have existed since the Beginning, but that doesn't mean Akaashi or Sugawara was there to witness it.

All they have are the stories.

The four beings take hazy shape, one wreathed in brilliant red, another dripping in icy blue, one is surrounded by an inky black while the last one emits pure white.

Another figure begins to take form, this one much larger than the four. It has a thin purple outline but it's composed of multicolored light. In a flash of blinding light, the being vanishes, each color within it forming into its own figure.

Akaashi and Bokuto play out their stories, the images becoming clear and clearer as they move forward. After a little while, Kei can make out some faces. There's a young Akaashi, Sugawara free of scars and magical brands, and baby faced Ushijima. Once their realm starts to take shape, Asahi rises from the forest, Kenma's face pokes out from the waves. Kuroo arrives from the outer reaches of the realm, where it's unformed. He's followed quickly by Daichi, who falls out of the sky. There's an image of the Demons finalizing their alliance with the Gods, and the ensuing celebration.

More and more gods and goddesses and nymphs and demons take shape in the magical light.

Kiyoko emerges from a massive flower one day. They find Nishinoya wandering through the mountains. Ennoshita appears in the aftermath of an exploding star. The first Constellation God is non existent one day, and by the time night falls, he's sitting on the roof of the Stronghold. Goshiki stumbles out of the sunset, wreathed in pink and red.

In, arguably, the most brilliant display, the oracle appears out of thin air. A column of multicolored fire erupts into the sky and the oracle steps out surrounded by an orange glow.

Somewhere between the building of the Stronghold and the creation of the first animals, Natsu slips from Daichi's lap and moves to sit in Kei's. They watch Ennoshita make the first system outside their own, watch the various gods of the time work together to make it perfect. Following that, Akaashi displays stories from the time of heroes. Tanaka and Saeko are at the forefront of these stories, they're the ones who went down to be around mortals the most often.

The stories continue into the early morning hours. Akaashi falls asleep mid story and the image vanishes. Bokuto follows soon after. More than half of them are asleep anyway. Shouyou's leaning against Kei's side, wings vanished, and Kageyama is lying down with his head in Shouyou's lap. Yamaguchi's curled up around a star beast while several others have settled on and around him. Kenma is still awake, half slumped out of the fountain, he meets Kei's gaze before vanishing. Daichi is asleep against Sugawara's shoulder, the latter looks as though he'll fall asleep at any moment. Everyone else is in various states of consciousness, those not wanting to sleep outside are slowly picking their bodies up and drifting back to the Palace.

Kei feels a sharp sort of pressure at the base of his skull. It's good right now, they're all good. Everyone's alive, their enemy is gone for good. There shouldn't be anything for him to worry about.

Where do they go from here?

For all their power and ability, they lead a rather repetitive life. Constant creation, constant destruction, a never ending cycle. They're practically immortal, if they die it won't be of old age. Are they really so lucky as to live out the rest of eternity in peace?

It would be ideal, but he's never truly been the complacent type. What if they go soft? What if something happens in the future and they're not-

"Your face gets all scrunchy when you think hard."

Natsu's still awake, still in Kei's lap. Her hair has died down some but it's a dark red instead of the soft orange it usually turns when she's tired or calm. She's lying down, sort of anyways, partially propped up against Kei's torso as she sits sideways, cradled in the crook of his arm. Her wings are folded against her back, they're not quite big enough to carry her yet, but they've certainly grown from when Kei first saw them. Her eyes are half lidded, heavy with fatigue, as she looks up at him.

"Hm?"

"When you think hard, your nose scrunches up and your eyebrows get pinchy," she says. "You shouldn't do that, your face will stick."

"I'll do my best not to."

"Besides, I already told you that everything is going to be fine, you shouldn't be worrying."

"Natsu, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?" She sits up a little, opening her eyes completely to meet Kei's gaze.

Before, her eyes had been a polished black, and they still are, but they've changed. Faintly, just behind the black, there's a swirling mass of color.

"How do you know?"

Natsu shrugs.

"I just do. I told you, I saw it."

* * *

It's actually over? Oh my goodness.

First and foremost, thank you all so much for sticking with this story up until the end, it means everything to me. I really hope this was an acceptable ending, and that you liked it. Let me know what you think, I'm very much interested in hearing your thoughts, especially now that the story has ended.

If you have any questions about the story or interest in any of the other characters please let me know, I'd love to talk about them. You can shoot me a question at wire-pudding on tumblr.

I think that's it. Thank you for reading!


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